Stephen Robinson is thrilled to be the first manager since Alex Smith in 1987 to guide St Mirren into a European match.
However, the Buddies boss remains grounded and is not letting the excitement of a potential Europa Conference League third qualifying round trip to the Netherlands or Norway distract him.
St Mirren are set to compete in their first European match in 37 years, facing Iceland's Valur in the first leg of their second qualifying round on Thursday.
“It’s my job to play the occasion down but for the fans it’s fantastic,” he said. “They’ve waited a long time and they are rightly excited. There will be a lot of focus on the game.
“It’s a shame we’ve only got a certain amount of tickets for the away game so we’re aware we have to be in the game for the second leg to get the Paisley crowd behind us.
“It’s a huge chance to put the football club on the map and for me as a manager and the players, it’s for us to navigate the game and concentrate solely on what’s in front of us.”
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During Monday's draw held in Switzerland, the Scottish Premiership club learned they could meet the winner of the matchup between Go Ahead Eagles, who triumphed in last season's Dutch Conference League play-off, and Norway's SK Brann, who finished second in their league last year, if they successfully navigate their upcoming ties against the Reykjavik-based team over the next two Thursdays.
“It’s more for the fans (to get excited at this stage), I’ve got my boys ringing me saying the flights are only £80 to Amsterdam, which is certainly cheaper than Iceland,” Robinson laughed.
“My job is to focus on the here and now. We are nowhere near Norway or Amsterdam at this moment in time. We’ve got two tough games to overcome against Valur. I’ll let the fans do all the dreaming and the planning and then I’ll worry about it if we get there.
“They would be huge ties against big teams and huge challenges. I believe we’ve got a squad that can go and play in Europe, I believe we are tactically aware and technically a well-coached team.
“It’s a challenge we are looking forward to and if we can progress to the next round, the challenge just gets greater.”
