Connor Barron went from the highs of a lauded Aberdeen display in Europe to the lows of a pummelling at Parkhead in the space of four days.

Now he's desperate to hit the heights again with Scotland Under 21s in Belgium tonight a year on from when he was Man of the Match against them.

The Dons midfielder will line up for Scot Gemmill's side at The Nest ground in Roeselare in the first of a Euro 2025 away double-header after a rollercoaster week.

Aberdeen took plenty of plaudits from their 2-2 draw against PAOK in Thessaloniki in the Europa Conference League.

But they were spectacularly brought down to earth with a disastrous hammering by the Hoops in Glasgow, with Barron coming on as a late sub.

The 21-year-old has already played against Belgium Uner 21s last season and was the best player on the park in Sint-Truiden as Scotland earned a decent goalless draw.

And he's hoping for more of the same tonight, after Scotland collected six points out of six in their home double-header last month against Hungary and Malta, and insisted Barry Robson's men will bounce back.

Barron said: "It's just football, isn't it? It was tough to take obviously because we were on a bit of a bounce after the PAOK game and you think you are going to go again, but then you get brought down.

"But that's the highs and lows of football and it's about how you pick yourself up again.

"We have got a big few weeks coming up at Aberdeen and we have the League Cup Final too.

"We were away in Greece and came back and then we were straight on the bus to Celtic. We lost out obviously there and now we will go back and focus on the Rangers game.

"The European stage is where you want to be playing. It has been brilliant for me to be able to say I have been at that level.

"But I want to come back and do it again and it's now about us getting back to where we want to be by making sure we are back in Europe.

"The way we have played in Europe this season shows we have to take confidence in our performances. It's something we should be proud of coming up against the teams we have played and producing good displays.

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"Yes we are disappointed not to have qualified, but that says it all.

"We know we will get to where we want to be, come the end of the season, but it's just going to take time.

"I really believe we will kick on."

And he's looking forward to tonight's clash, with Liverpool's Ben Doak set to lead the line for the young Scots, as Gemmill's kids look to end what would be a 29-year hiatus from qualifying for the Finals.

He said: "Belgium are a good side who play good football. They have started off well in the campaign, but so have we.

"It's one we feel we can do well in over here and put our mark in the game.

"When you come up against these top countries we used to be the underdog, but you can see we are coming on and picking up results against massive nations.

"The last time we were in Belgium we did really well and hopefully we can replicate that and even get the win this time.

"It was important we got the wins against Hungary and Malta. The squad has really come on.

"Looking at this right now, we do feel like we have a good chance of qualifying.

"We went over to Spain and put in a good performance and were very unlucky not to get a point. It's wide open for us.

"We are all aiming to get to the Finals.

"It's my last campaign and If you are playing well there is an opportunity to move up again."

Meanwhile, Gemmill - who will be missing Bristol City striker Tommy Conway, Sturm Graz defender Max Johnston and Aberdeen's Ryan Duncan - has urged his side to use the experience of the game in their careers.

He said: "This is what we want. We want this calibre of game for our players. There's no question these types of games help players get to the full squad.

"When you look at the likes of Ryan Porteous, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, you could see they had it, but they had to make it happen and I really feel like in games like Belgium and Hungary away they really do add so much value to the players' experience.

"It's another big test and challenge for the players, but I feel we can be really confident going into the game because of the level of performance in Spain and against Hungary."