NO REAL ARM DONE: STUART

STUART ARMSTRONG was a second-half sub in Southampton’s infamous 9-0 drubbing at the hands of Leicester City back in October 2019.

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And the Aberdeen midfielder admits there could have been no complaints if AEK Athens had whacked them by the same scoreline on Thursday night.

Jimmy Thelin’s team had put in a credible performance against a similar calibre of opposition when they ran Shakhtar Dontesk close in a 3-2 thriller at Pittodrie on matchday one in the Conference League but were given a reality check of the highest order in the Greek capital.

They shipped three goals in either half to consign the club to their biggest ever defeat in European competition, eclipsing 5-1 losses to Sigma Olomouc and Bayern Munich in 2009 and 2008 respectively.

Armstrong, 33, returned to Scotland last summer after six years away and concedes that his new team got off lightly against AEK.