IT may be being billed as the Battle of Britain, but Steven Thompson believes Aberdeen will be doing well to escape something of a massacre when they come up against Burnley in the Europa League.

The former Turf Moor striker, who spent three years at the Lancashire club, has been hugely impressed by the strides Sean Dyche has made, taking the side on to another level altogether since his own time there.

He points to their remarkable seventh-place finish in the English Premier League last season as evidence of the task that lies ahead of Derek McInnes and his men at Pittodrie on Thursday evening, and in the return leg down south next week. And he believes the gulf in quality will be all too apparent when the sides go head to head.

“I expect that Burnley will have too much for Aberdeen,” Thompson said. “You don’t finish seventh in the Premier League, given the competition you are up against, without being a really top side.

“Sean Dyche has done a remarkable job, and he has taken the team on to another level from the one I was involved with.

“The great thing about Burnley is that they learned their lessons from when my team there got promoted, and they have invested the parachute money wisely.

“The year we went up through the play-offs, absolutely nobody, not even at the club, expected us to. When we got there, we weren’t really ready. The facilities at the club were average to say the least, and we used to get changed at the stadium before driving to training in cars.

“Now, they have their own dedicated training facility, and all the infrastructure of a top Premier League club is in place. That, along with investment in the team obviously, have made them a really good side.

“Perhaps if it was the Burnley team I was involved in then I would expect the contest to be a little bit closer, but as it is, I can’t see anything other than Burnley progressing relatively comfortably.”

Last summer, Burnley broke their transfer record when they signed striker Chris Wood from Leeds United for over £14 million, only just shading their previous top transfer fee of £13.5 million for left winger Robbie Brady.

Aberdeen, on the other hand, have just lost striker Adam Rooney to English National League side Salford City, and Thompson points to the disparity in finances as a stark illustration of what the Scottish side are up against.

And when you factor in the creative players that Aberdeen have lost since last season, then it makes the task all the more difficult.

“When you look at what Burnley have spent in relative terms to other sides in their own division, then you have to say that they have spent comparatively little,” he said. “But when you look at the calibre of player they are able to attract and the sort of fees they are able to pay compared to Aberdeen, you see that they are operating on a completely different playing field.

“In Scottish terms, Aberdeen will have a decent budget, but even with that, they haven’t really been able to sign enough players to replace the ones they have lost. I’m sure Derek will be frustrated that they haven’t been able to get players in sooner. They will now be scrambling about trying to get people in.

“They have lost Kenny McLean, who was great at getting into the box, Ryan Christie and now Adam Rooney. You have to ask where the goals are coming from.

“It is a lot to expect from Stevie May and Sam Cosgrove to go up against the calibre of defender that Burnley have and get goals considering their struggles last season. Gary Mackay-Steven and Niall McGinn are still there, and there will be a huge onus on them to create chances.”

Given that apparent lack of depth in attacking areas for Aberdeen, Thompson believes their best, and perhaps only chance, is to make sure they maintain a clean sheet in the first leg at Pittodrie. The importance of that is drawn into sharp focus when you consider Burnley had one of the best home records in the English Premier Division last season.

“Their home record was incredible last year,” said Thompson. “Aberdeen don’t want to be going to Turf Moor having to open up and chase goals, because some of the best sides in England were going there last season and finding it really tough.

“Sean Dyche has turned them into real home specialists, and if Aberdeen have any sort of deficit from their home leg, then you would have to say the tie would be dead in the water.

“To keep it alive, they have to keep it tight at Pittodrie and it is so vital that they get a clean sheet. That will be difficult.

“They lost out on Jason Naismith, who decided to go to Peterborough, while Mark Reynolds is out injured. It will be a big test for their young defenders like Scott McKenna and Mikey Devlin to shut out an EPL side, but I think they will have to if they are going to have any chance of going through.”