Rovers: Ankara trip will be Turkis delight

Blackburn and Turkish rivals Genclerbirligi both insist there will be no security fears stemming from the clubs being paired in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

Representatives of the Turkish side are confident there will be no repeat in Ankara of the trouble which has flared when English fans have travelled to Istanbul in the past.

For their part, Rovers believe their fans’ previous record of good behaviour, tied to the club’s existing links with Turkey, will also prevent any ugly scenes.

Blackburn chairman Robert Coar said: “We have connections with Turkey through Tugay, as well as Graeme Souness, who managed Galatasaray and Brad Friedel who played there.

“We do not have a history of causing trouble so we would hope it is just a game of football and no side issue.

“At this moment in time no one has suggested that there will be any issue with Blackburn fans going to Turkey to support the side.”

Blackburn were drawn to play away in the first leg on September 24 with the return on October 15, four days after England play Turkey in Istanbul.

Genclerbirligi finished third in the Turkish league last season, but have lost several players since then and have started the new campaign badly.

The club’s spokesman Suphi Yalcinkaya said: “I do not think we will need any extra security. Ankara is a very safe city, a university city and a government city.

“Our stadium has 19,500 seats and although we only get around 4,000 usually they are real football fans. We know about Blackburn through Tugay and Souness and Brad Friedel, and it will be very tough for us.”

Southampton had one of the toughest draw of the English sides against Steaua Bucharest of Romania, European Cup winners in 1986.

Saints chairman Rupert Lowe said: “We are delighted just to be in Europe - it’s a long time since we were here and we have certainly been drawn against one of the better-known clubs.

“It will be a chance to visit Romania and speak to Dan Petrescu, who is coaching over there and always tells me on the telephone what a beautiful city it is.”

Russell Cushing, Newcastle’s chief operating officer, claimed he was “quite pleased” with the draw against Dutch side NAC Breda.

Cushing said: “Bearing in mind some of the trips we have had recently – Kiev, Budapest and obviously Belgrade it’s an easy one for the fans to get to, although I’m not sure how many tickets we will get.

“Not being in the Champions League slows down your progress but we are pretty prudent with our money.

“Unlike some clubs, we wouldn’t budget on the assumption we would reach the Champions League.

“It depends how far we will get in the UEFA Cup, but we will probably lose £10million to £12million not being in the Champions League, but not that much if we reach the final.”

Liverpool’s chief executive Rick Parry was also pleased that the club had avoided a lengthy trip when they were drawn against Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana.

Parry said: “We don’t know a great deal about them, but we will know a heck of a lot more by the time we play them.

“I know the city and it’s a civilised place to visit and only a couple of hours flight away. We didn’t want to be travelling to the other side of the Continent.”

Manchester City will play Belgian side Lokeren, Dundee are up against Italians Perugia while Hearts face NK Zeljeznicar of Bosnia-Herzegovina.