Shamrock Rovers players should feel little trepidation as their UEFA Conference League campaign begins in earnest with a tough League Phase opener against Cypriot champions APOEL on Thursday, according to former Republic of Ireland international Keith Treacy.
Qualification for the competition proper - just the fifth time a League of Ireland club will tackle a group stage or the new League Phase in Europe - means six lucrative fixtures.
That starts with APOEL at Tallaght Stadium, before further matches against Northern Irish champions Larne (A), Welsh side TNS (H), Austria's Rapid Vienna (A), Bosnia's Borac (H) and a high-profile trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge all between now and Christmas.
Most of APOEL's squad have vast experience, including at international level, but if Rovers can come away from Thursday with a point, Treacy believes it will give a Hoops' side with its own muscle memory of a recent European group campaign plenty of impetus with winnable games to come in the new format that moves away from three opponents home and away.
With potentially nine or ten points being enough to make it among the 24 teams that progress to the play-off round, Treacy added that the timing of the Chelsea match coming at the culmination of the League Phase in December can be a "reward" of sorts for Rovers which would allow them to focus heavily on trying to rack up as many points as possible in their five other fixtures.
"The more I look at that group, I really don't fear it and I don't think the players (will either) - the likes of Graham Burke, an Irish international - there will be so many people in that dressing room who will be licking their lips thinking, 'I'm not afraid at all.'"
APOEL, domestic champions for the first time in five years last season, were beaten by Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League qualifiers earlier in the summer and given the Slovakian side have not overly impressed him since, Treacy feels that may point to some limitations for the Cypriots.
"You would be looking at that thinking if that's their level, I think we can reach that," he said of Rovers' perspective.
"It will be a very tight game. I don't think any team will take a hammering in this game and again, the more I look at it, the more I think Shamrock Rovers have a great chance."
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One area for concern though is whether domestic inconsistencies can be ironed for the Hoops who come into the game after being beaten 3-0 at home by in-form St Patrick's Athletic on Friday.
Former Rovers and Pat's goalkeeper Barry Murphy told the podcast that the manner of defeat was "bruising" for Stephen Bradley's side against a team with fleet-footed wingers.
"That's the quality you're going to face in Europe, that speed. It's all about speed in Europe," he said.
"APOEL have two speedy wingers as well and good midfielders. It's a tough one to take But what Rovers have done well of late and Stephen always mentions it, is they've bounced back from these sorts of defeats, especially the games in Europe where they've had a defeat, they've gone and done well in their next game.
"And they've got a good run of form in Tallaght Stadium in terms of European games. They've only been beaten there a couple of times over the qualifying rounds in the last number of years and they put it up to Sparta Prague as well there. Played really well, lost 2-0 but played well and took some big scalps along the way at Tallaght Stadium so it's a bit of a fortess for them in terms of European fixtures."
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