Tony Fitzpatrick revealed it was an “honour” to represent St Mirren across the continent.
Now the Saints legend wants the current crop of players to seize their opportunity to end the Paisley club’s exile from European football that’s lasted nearly four decades.
Former skipper Fitzpatrick played in a golden era for the Buddies in Europe – with the club qualifying for the UEFA Cup three times in the 1980s.
He was also donning the black and white stripes the last time St Mirren played in European competition, taking on Mechelen in the European Cup Winners’ Cup back in November 1987.
Fitzpatrick remembers flying out on European adventures surrounded by Saints fans as they raised the Paisley club’s profile around the continent.
And the 67-year-old would love to get his passport out again with the Buddies if they can clinch a European spot by the end of this month after making it into the Premiership top-six.
Speaking exclusively to the Paisley Daily Express, Fitzpatrick said: “There’s nothing better than European football.
“Because of how long it’s been, there are a lot of St Mirren fans who have never experienced that feeling.
“Love Street was mobbed on those days back in the 80s, when we qualified pretty regularly.
“There’s something about the midweek games, under the floodlights against teams from other countries. It’s just magical.
“It was an honour to play for St Mirren in Europe, especially abroad when the fans would come along with us.
“St Etienne, Tromso, Prague, Mechelen. The fans always came with us and it grew the club’s name around Europe.
“A lot of fans travelled with the team back in those days on our charter flights.
“I remember coming back from Tromso after we’d qualified for the next round - it was brilliant.
“The atmosphere was incredible and I’d love to see what our fans displays would be like in Europe if we did make it next season.
“We could be taking over a town in Italy, Holland or Spain. That would be magical and hopefully the team can make that happen.
“I know it’s going to be tough, but it’s within our grasp now and we’ve got to try and take this opportunity.
“Fourth and fifth place are there to target and I genuinely believe we can achieve that.”
While not only being a massive chance to give the fans memories to treasure, Fitzpatrick also believes qualifying for Europe would have a huge benefit for the club’s players.
The St Mirren club ambassador believes it would help the current squad level up, as well as provide a much-needed financial boost through increased prize money and gate receipts.
Fitzpatrick said: “What European football does for you as a player is it gives you an idea of the levels you need to try and reach to make it at the top level.
“Most people wouldn’t have even known the names of the Mechelen players we were up against that night in 1987. But they were so strong, fit and technically so good that they were miles ahead of us.
“It made you want to go away and better yourself as a player. It can kick players on even more, adding that extra five percent that sets them apart.
“For the stature of the club, making Europe would be huge too. Financially, the prize money is massive and you also have ticket sales on top of that.
“Getting a bigger budget also makes the club more attractive to players. We’d also be in a stronger position to demand higher fees for players, so it all ties in together.
“The value of our players has already gone up from finishing in the top-six. To finish in Europe now would put us in an even stronger position.”
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