Early
June is normally a flat spot in the Motherwell calendar and this year is no
exception. A look ahead to the
Conference League offers a wee diversion.
A
first check suggests 69 possible opponents.
That’s hardly worth a detailed analysis but for prospective travellers,
the absolute one to avoid is Dinamo Minsk given they're not permitted to play
at home in front of fans. The Kazakhstan duo would be incredibly inconvenient
but everything else is probably in the realms of the possible assuming no financial
or time constraint. There's no chance we can draw an Israeli side first either,
which will be a plus for some.
There
are 13 'either-or' ties which could leave us scrambling to confirm a trip
inside a week.
The
top six or seven seeded teams will be favourites to knock us out but we should be at least competitive
against most others. There's a sweet spot of those ranked between Tetovo of North Macedonia and Helsinki where we'll have a sporting chance and would steal
their seeding if we win. It's worth noting we've never beaten a seeded team.
There
are various chances for a first repeat tie, including Katowice which would be
nice for the nostalgia. Panathinaikos, Stjarnen, Steaua, HB Thorshavn are the
others.
Five
teams from Northern Ireland and Wales are in the mix, which would keep the
passport in the drawer, plus one from ROI.
Q2
draw is June 17 with ties July 23/30. We'll definitely be in the July 20 Q3
draw as an either-or, those ties August 6 and 13.
Our
opening league match will definitely be on Sunday, August 2. We cannot play
Celtic or Hearts, it may be considered convenient to give us Hibs or Rangers.
The
only league match we can postpone to aid our European campaign is August 23
should we reach the playoffs.
Meanwhile,
enjoy the rest of the close season if you can.
