Stefan Gartenmann insists Aberdeen can catch PAOK cold as he admits Pittodrie chills of his own on red hot Euro nights

Stefan Gartenmann got the chills in his first experience of the big European atmosphere at Pittodrie.

But the Aberdeen ace is hoping Greek big guns PAOK freeze when they get a blast of the brutal North East weather. The Granite City has taken a battering in the last week and the forecast is grim again for this evening’s crunch Europa Conference League clash. It will be a far cry from the sun-kissed shores of Thessaloniki for the Greek bronzed Gods but it will be no sweat for Danish star Gartenmann. The defender has seen it all in his homeland and he’s hoping Dons fans can turn up the heat.

Gartenmann said: “Hopefully they will be freezing and we can take advantage of that. Any small percentage we can get we’ll take it. I have played in some rough conditions over the years. The Danish weather is very similar to the Scottish and we don’t have a lot of mountains to take any of the wind. I’ve played a lot of games where it was practically impossible to hit a long ball. But I don’t see it being quite that bad!”

Gartenmann got his first taste of a big Euro night in the Europa play-off clash with Hacken and again in the 1-1 draw with Helsinki. He was blown away by the noise from the stands and he’s looking for another blast this evening. Gartenmann said: “The fans can play a massive part. I felt something quite magical when we played Helsinki. There’s just something about Pittodrie when the stadium lights are on and it is dark out. There’s something happening.

“I heard from one of the Hacken players I know a little bit that he was quite surprised when they played here at how Pittodrie has that ability to frighten the opponent a bit. We tend to get a few extra percentages out of having the fans. There is something extraordinary