There’s no doubt that the long gap between our exit from the UEFA Cup in 1995 (against Mypa) and our return in 2008 (against Nancy) was a fair reflection of our mediocre performance in both league and cup in the 13 year period. Since then we have had three consecutive campaigns - do we need a rest?
Fans love the build up to their European adventures and we’ll miss the excitement that Dundee United supporters will experience as they watch for their name to feature in today’s draw. The trips that follow become part of the club’s history and fans treasure the memories. Just ask any Motherwell fan about their day in Nancy or Odense.
Odense v Motherwell
For the players an early start means a return to training in June and a long, long season stretching ahead. The Motherwell squad started out in Llanelli on July 2 and they had to soldier on until May 21 (although some had international involvement after that).
Some say that our recent run of qualifications have taken the shine off the experience, that games against the lesser lights in distant corners of Europe do little to prepare us for the SPL season and that these games do nothing to help the club financially.
The majority view is that a competitive preparation for the domestic season has to be better than the pointless series of friendly fixtures that are often devalued by multiple substitutions.
The debate is academic as we have no option but to watch as Dundee United, Hearts, Celtic and Rangers set off of their foreign trips. Let’s hope that their fans are able to enjoy the adventure and that the teams are able to go beyond their seeded positions – an increase in Scotland’s coefficient is in everyone’s interest.