noelyf
VIP Member
Friday, 26 August 2011
Shamrock Rovers have been drawn in Group A of the Europa League alongside Barclays Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.
The Hoops will also play Russian side Rubin Kazan and PAOK Salonika of Greece.
Focus will immediately turn to the home leg against Tottenham and the venue in which it will be played.
The London side have a big support base in Ireland and thousands would be expected to travel from London for the game, so Tallaght Stadium's 5947 capacity is almost certainly not going to be enough to satisfy demand.
Club chairman Jonathan Roche had previously expressed a desire to have all three home games in Tallaght, however the the Aviva Stadium would now appear to be a more likely venue for the Tottenham clash.
The team arrive home from Belgrade via Frankfurt shortly after 10pm this evening when a large welcoming committee is expected at Dublin airport.
"It's hard to put into words," said a delighted O'Neill immediately after the game.
"The performance was fantastic, it's unbelievable. The courage they showed to play. We tried to contain them in the first half and we did that. We looked a wee bit nervy and created some of our own problems, but once we settled into the game, I thought we did okay.
"We knew we had to score after they did, so it didn't change it so much. Then the goal from Sully was out of this world. The two full-backs were unbelievable."
With most of his squad out of contract at the end of the domestic season at the start of November, O'Neill has a nice headache to surmount.
"We're dreaming," he added.
"To get to this stage, and now how we deal with it will be the interesting thing."
"We only have less than a week to sign players (for UEFA eligibility) and we will need them as it's going to be a long, long season.
"It has been a fantastic adventure, the 10 games over the last two years have been fantastic and they (the players) deserve to be on this stage as they never looked out of place."
Roche added: "It's enormous. It's a new universe for us. For us, and for Irish football.
"Hopefully, now everyone will take Irish football - not just us - seriously. It's a serious league with serious players.
"Celtic and Rangers went out (last night), yet Shamrock Rovers are still in representing Irish football.
"It's a massive night for the club, for Irish football and hopefully we can kick on from this. It makes everything worthwhile. Not just for us, but for all the other clubs as well."
Group A: Tottenham, Rubin Kazan, PAOK Salonika, Shamrock Rovers
Group B: FC Copenhagen, Standard Liege, Hannover, Vorskla Poltava
Group C: PSV Eindhoven, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Rapid Bucharest, Legia Warsaw
Group D: Sporting Lisbon, Lazio, FC Zurich, FC Vaslui
Group E: Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas, Stoke, Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Group F: Paris St Germain, Athletic Bilbao, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava
Group G: AZ Alkmaar, Metalist Kharkiv, Austria Vienna, Malmo
Group H: Braga, Club Brugge, Birmingham, Maribor
Group I: Atletico Madrid, Udinese, Rennes, Sion
Group J: Schalke, Steaua Bucharest, Maccabi Haifa, AEK Larnaca
Group K: FC Twente, Fulham, Odense, Wisla Krakow
Group L: Anderlecht, AEK Athens, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sturm Graz
