Euro vision at well is in shane sight
SHANE BLANEY’S last European adventure ended in a Viking ambush.
But the Motherwell ace hopes it will be Stuart Kettlewell’s side launching a continental raid of their own next summer.
The Irishman first popped up on the Fir Park radar last season when he helped Sligo Rovers stun Well as they were dumped out of the Conference League qualifiers.
That shock win set up a tie with Norwegian outfit FK Viking but it was a sore one in Stavanger as Blaney and Co were savaged 5-1.
The 25-year-old defender relished every minute of that run, however, and would love nothing more than to embark on a repeat journey.
That’s not on the table this summer after Kettlewell’s side missed out on the top six.
But Blaney is backing the Steelmen to set sail in a year’s time.
He said: “Yeah, 100 percent Europe is an aim. It was something I thought about as soon as I signed.
“I feel as though this club, from what I’ve seen, can definitely aim for the European spots.
“I’ve had a taste with Sligo. We played against Bala Town from Wales, then played here against Motherwell before going to Norway to face Viking.
“Not the most exotic of trips and the Viking game ended up being a rough one. We lost 5-1 over there but it was still a really enjoyable few months.
“It was one of the best spells of my career, the excitement around those games was unbelievable.”
With a seven-point lead over second bottom Ross County, Motherwell still aren’t quite safe from play-off danger.
But they can relegate Livingston with a win today when they host David Martindale’s basement boys.
Kettlewell, though, expects the Lions to come out snarling. He said: “I have the utmost respect for what Livi have done and how competitive they’ve been. But I’m not writing them off and they aren’t either. They’ll be out to do what they did against Ross County last week.”