O'Neill: Hoops ready for European test

Michael O’Neill has warned Russian aristocrats Rubin Kazan his Shamrock Rovers team has not just come along for the Europa League ride.

Rubin head for Tallaght Stadium tomorrow night still smarting from their exit from the Champions League at the hands of Lyon, but with high hopes of European glory.

However, they will step into the unknown as they take on the Irish champions in he first game of the group stage.

Rovers became the first Irish club team to reach this stage of a UEFA competition when they defied to odds with a 2-1 extra-time victory at Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade in the final qualifying round, after drawing 1-1 in the first game in Dublin.

O’Neill admits the chances of his side emerging from the group are slim, but he insists they have to be optimistic.

He said: “We have to be realistic about this. It would be an enormous achievement for a club like us to progress out of the group stage.

“I would imagine that from a financial viewpoint, we are possibly the club with the smallest budget that has ever competed in the group stage of a European competition.

“Money, unfortunately, is a big factor in football, particularly in European football with player acquisition and everything that goes along with that.

“What we have proved to date is that with good organisation, good application from the players and good players, it is possible for us to get to the stage we are at now.

“Whilst we would never say we are just here to fulfil the fixtures, we have to be realistic.

“To come out of the group would be an enormous achievement. I am not going to that’s not possible, but I am equally not going to say that it’s something I think the squad is capable of either.

“People have to recognise the achievements of the players for what they have done so far without burdening them with other expectation.”

Rovers’ achievement is all the more remarkable as the club very nearly went out of existence just six years ago in the wake of their first ever relegation from the top flight.

Such was the parlous state of their finances that fans were asked to subscribe to the tune of €40 a month each to help meet running costs.

They were rewarded last season when the Tallaght club lifted their first League of Ireland title in 16 years, and they are currently favourites to retain their domestic crown as they trail leaders Derry City by just a point with a game in hand.

That remains their key aim for the season, but O’Neill is determined that they will continue to make their mark on the big stage.

He said: “I suppose we are paddling furiously beneath the surface of the water to continue to make these things happen and to compete as a team.

“That’s what our aim is. We believe we can take points in the competition - there would be no point in us taking part if that wasn’t the case because it would be a massive distraction from our domestic situation, which we can’t ignore.

“I believe we are capable, particularly at home, of gathering points, and we have a chance tomorrow night to prove that.

“It’s a big ask against the opposition which again takes us up a level, but we won’t make any predictions on what we will be satisfied with.

“It is very much a game at a time and let’s see what we can take out of each fixture.”