A week on from their impressive dismantling of NK Celje, Shamrock Rovers return to European football with big dreams and a lucrative safety net.
Stephen Bradley's men are guaranteed to rake in over €3million (at least) after reaching the Europa League play-off stage, the first leg of which takes place this evening against PAOK at Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki (6.30pm kick-off).
If the Hoops beat the heavily fancied Greek outfit, they march into the revamped Europa League which means - under the newly introduced Swiss Model - they will have eight games against eight different opponents. Lose and they drop into the group stages of the UEFA Conference League, where they'll have six games against six different opponents.
It's a brilliant boost to the reigning SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division champions who just haven't got going in the league this year - they're currently sixth in the table, ten points off leaders Shelbourne albeit with a game in hand.
Entering Europe through the 'champions path' offers clubs a few bites of the cherry, a route that can be fruitful even with a defeat or two along the way.
It's why Shamrock Rovers' Champions League first qualifying round win over Vikingur Reykjavik was so important, with the subsequent loss to Sparta Prague softened by the consolation prize of a place in the Europa League qualifiers, where they scalped Albert Riera's Celje.
Now they square up to PAOK, an expensively assembled side stacked with internationals. This a seriously big ask, but there's some sources of encouragement for Shamrock Rovers.
Firstly, this is not totally unfamiliar terrain for the club.
It's been 13 years since Michael O'Neill's team beat Partizan Belgrade on their own patch after extra-time to become the first Irish side to make the group stages of a European competition. They went on to play Tottenham, Rubin Kazan and - full circle alert - PAOK, losing all six games but coming out of the experience with good memories and a healthy injection of cash.
Rovers had a rough time in Europe last year but they've gleaned a lot of experience during Bradley's time in charge in terms of going up against quality opposition.
They also have new signing Danny Mandroiu in the ranks.
Bradley confirmed on Wednesday that Mandroiu is available for this evening's clash, after he rejoined the club from Lincoln City a couple of days ago.
Mandroiu is back in the League of Ireland until the end of the season, hoping European football will help him make the breakthrough at international level. This evening would be a great time to start building his case.
But make no mistake, it's going to take some effort from Rovers to pull this off.
PAOK will be extremely strong. They were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by Malmo 6-5 on aggregate, losing a mad second leg in Greece 4-3. Malmo only forced extra-time at the death thanks to a freak goal that came when an attempted clearance cannoned off Nils Zatterstrom's shin and flew into the net.
PAOK's goals on the night were of the highest quality; however the ones they conceded were soft, and they looked particularly uncomfortable defending crosses.
These are crumbs of comfort to Rovers as they prepare for a first leg that will be played in 30-degree heat. They need everything to go their way against an outfit laced with top players.
PAOK captain Vieirinha, now 38, is a bit of a blast from the past. He scored in a 2-1 win against Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League group game in Greece back in 2011. The 25-times capped Portugal international rejoined the club in 2017 after a stint with Wolfsburg.
Premier League fans may be familiar with Jonny Otto, the clever full-back who had six years at Wolves before coming to Greece. And watch out too for 28-year-old Andrija Zivkovic. The smart, dangerous wide attacker featured quite heavily for Serbia at the Euros.
"They've shown they know how to score goals but they've also shown that they can concede," Bradley said yesterday.
"I believe if we're at our best we could score goals against any team and (this) will be no different. We saw last week in Europe, it's vital when you get your moments that you take them and hopefully we can do that."
PAOK have been stung by their loss to Malmo. It's indicative of the size and ambition of the club that they absolutely believe they should be in the Champions League group stages. They're certainly not shy of a few bob either having just sold defender Konstantinos Koulierakis to Wolfsburg for a reported €11.75m.
"We have to fight, we have to fight," said boss Razvan Lucescu ahead of their showdown with Shamrock Rovers.
"There is no other way. If someone does not see perspective and that we are in a very interesting period of the season, then it is not worth being with us. Confidence needs to grow, but every player needs to work on it. They have to fight enough with themselves and then as a member of a group and that they are willing to make any sacrifice for the team."
Lucescu managed his native Romania from 2009 to 2011. This is his second spell with PAOK who he first helmed from 2017 to 2019 before heading to Saudi Arabia to take the Al Hilal job. He returned to Greece two years later.
"The goal is clear," he added. "Let's move on to the next phase of the Europa League. This will come through both games. We have to fight with ourselves first and this is our logic before both games against Shamrock."
The task for Shamrock Rovers, realistically, is to come away from Greece still in this tie. Do that and they might just be in for a very special night in Tallaght next week.
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