The Europa League group stages are a long way in the distance for St Johnstone.
And manager Tommy Wright won’t be getting his binoculars out.
Saints have posted some very impressive European results in recent years against well-known club names on the continent but have also slipped up against unknown minnows.
So it is understandable that the Perth boss is adopting a ‘one game at a time’ mindset ahead of their latest campaign, which will get underway at the end of the month in the first qualifying round.
“A lot depends on the draw,” Wright said.
“There will be some big clubs even in the early rounds.
“The fact that we’re seeded should help.
“There will be no easy games in the first round – that was proved by the Armenian side we played.
“From our point of view, if we could win two rounds for the first time, that would be a target.
“When I look back we should have already done that.
“We should have won the Minsk game. It was one of the worst refereeing displays I can ever remember.
“And we should have done better at home to Trnava.
“But we’ve proved that we can get unexpected results at clubs like Rosenborg and Luzern.
“The quick turnaround between our seasons adds to the difficulty of it.
“Our aim will be to try and improve on previous years.”
Wright added: “I actually couldn’t tell you how many ties you have to win to get to the group stages. It’s so many these days.
“You could have won the old Cup Winners Cup by the time you reach the play-off stage in the Europa League, or the old European Cup!
“It is a marathon in terms of the overall competition.
“We don’t think we have a divine right to be in the group stages or even the third round. You need to take each tie as it comes.
“They all have their own problems – whether it’s travel, climate, the opposition or the information you can get on the opposition.
“The draw is on the 19th of June and you’ve got 10 days to possibly watch the opposition or just get information on them. We found it really hard with Alashkert in that regard.
“We’ll deal with that, though.”
