After 51 years without European football Burnley’s first tie is a 330-mile trip... up to Aberdeen EUR JOKING!
BURNLEY fans waited 51 years for a trip into Europe – only to be handed a day out in Scotland.
With exuberant supporters celebrating a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, they were dreaming of a summer outing to Georgia or Gibraltar, Sweden or Serbia.
Instead, they were paired with Aberdeen, a 330-mile bus trip to the Granite City.
Even for Dyche, the draw yesterday raised some eyebrows, and a wry smile as he contemplated a second qualifying round tie with the 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup champions.
“It could have been anywhere, looking at the draw with the amount of different teams from different countries involved,”’ he said.
“And lo and behold we get someone just up the road! But we’ve worked hard to get here and we’ll look forward to the challenge it brings.
“We know we won’t be travelling far, so it won’t be too unfamiliar.
“And it brings focus to the end part of the pre-season now that we know who we’ve got and we can prepare for what should be a competitive cup-tie, alongside our planning for the Premier League.”
The last time Burnley were involved in European competition was back in 1967, when they enjoyed a thrilling run to the quarter-final of the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, only to lose to a fine Eintracht Frankfurt side.
For Dyche though, this year’s return is a huge moment in the club’s history, even if it’s not a huge journey for the opening game.
“You get to the point where we are now, you’re in a European competition, there’s nothing but positives for me,” he added.
“Burnley Football Club playing European football, I don’t think anyone thought that, certainly not five-and-a-half years ago when I got to the club.”
While Burnley were no doubt slightly disappointed about their lack of European glamour, new Rangers boss Steven Gerrard would have settled for a short journey, after he discovered his first competitive game in charge would be against Macedonia side FK Shkupi.
The former Liverpool man knows all about European travel, but Shkupi will come as a complete mystery, with the side based in Macedonia’s capital Skopje only officially forming six years ago.
But they will present a tough challenge, especially given the temperatures in July there can top 35 degrees.
Gerrard (left) though, insisted he’s looking forward to the first qualifying round tie. “First and foremost I’m excited to be involved in the draw, it’s a good draw for us, it will be a good test,” he said.
“And we are at home first so really excited to be in front of the Ibrox crowd for real. Hopefully we will get a good result and set us up for the second leg.”
If that is a tough test for Gerrard, then should they win he faces a real challenge, with Rangers potentially paired with Croatia side Osijek, who were seeded in yesterday’s draw and beat PSV Eindhoven home and away to reach the play-off round last season.
Neil Lennon’s Hibernian were also in the first qualifying round draw and will face Faroe Islands side NSI Runavik.