Jack Ross insists Dundee United should have no 'inferiority complex' in Europe ahead of AZ Alkmaar showdown

Bullish Jack Ross insists Dundee United are fully intent on progressing past AZ Alkmaar as opposed to simply enjoying the experience of facing the highly-regarded Dutch side.

The Tannadice club play their first European match in a decade when they host the Eredivisie outfit in the first leg of their Conference League third qualifying round tie on Thursday.

A bumper crowd is expected for the glamour showdown with a team who have featured regularly in continental competition in recent times, and who narrowly lost out to Celtic in last season's Europa League play-off, going down 3-2 on aggregate.

But Ross is adamant the main objective is to progress to the play-off round.

“The fact we’ve drawn such an attractive tie, allied to the fact it’s grabbed the attention of supporters so much in terms of the crowd that will be in attendance, means there is that air of excitement around it,” he said.

“It’s a tie we’re very much looking forward to but, ultimately for us as players and staff, it’s about progression. While for others there will be a sense of occasion, for us it’s business. We want to stay in Europe for as long as possible.

“I think it’s a tie we view as a challenging one but one we believe we can progress through. That message has been there for the players consistently: while we’re playing against a good team, it’s certainly not unachievable for us to progress through this round.”

Ross stressed that his team must approach the tie with a positive mindset and not view AZ – fifth in the Dutch top flight last term – as a more formidable opponent than some of the stronger sides in the Scottish Premiership.

“Alkmaar will provide a proper difficult test but I don’t think it’s beyond anything we face from some of the teams in