Chris McCann wants to put Shamrock Rovers “on the map” by securing group stage football in Europe this year.
The Hoops were agonisingly close to making the Europa Conference League last year, but lost out to Flora Tallinn in the play-off round.
Their chances of making the big-money stage received a huge boost last week when they claimed a 3-0 first-leg lead in their Champions League clash with Hibernians of Malta.
READ MORE:Huge double-boost for Shamrock Rovers ahead of Champions League clash
Seal the deal on Tuesday evening in the Centenary Stadium in Ta’ Qali and they will face a second round tie against likely opponents Ludogorets Razgrad.
That would mean a minimum of a Conference League play-off place for the Irish giants, with both Champions League and Europa League group stage dreams still alive.
McCann (34) has plenty of big-game experience, having made over 230 Premier League and Championship appearances for Burnley.
He also lined out for Wigan in the Europa League group stages in 2013.
And the chance to return to the European stage was one of the main reasons behind his decision to join Rovers 18 months ago.
“I think from the get-go, one of the reasons I came here was the opportunity to play European football,” he said.
“I said it to the manager when I first came, that it’s nice to be at the right end of the table fighting for trophies and for cups.
“And the carrot at the end of the stick is getting into Europe and playing in these competitions, travelling to these places.
“It’s difficult coming up against some of the teams because they’re not really that well known or high profile in these early stages.
“You’ve got to get the bit between your teeth and make it through to get a nice draw, a favourable draw to see how far you can get in the competition.
“For me, I played in the Europa League a couple of years back and it was more a case of being in the competition but not really taking it all in, of what it’s all about, the prestige of the cup and enjoying the moment.
“But here now, you really start to take stock of what it’s all about and you enjoy the moments, being with the lads.
“You start to take in the feel of the competition, what it means to the club, to the fans, and for the league itself, putting the club’s name out there.
“Hopefully we can give ourselves a good opportunity to progress into the next round.
“Getting into a group stage would be a fantastic achievement for the club and really put our club on the map in terms of this is what we’re all about, the project that the manager has been building for the last few years coming to fruition.”
While at Wigan, McCann played in their Europa League campaign, when they finished bottom of a group that contained Rubin Kazan, Maribor and Zulte Waregem.
Europe wasn’t the priority, however, as Wigan were desperate to make an immediate return to the Premier League, only to lose out in the play-off semi-finals that season.
This time around, however, McCann intends to enjoy every moment of his European adventure.
“At the time they'd just been relegated so it was a difficult one, a lot of turnover of players,” recalled the 34-year-old.
“It was the first time the club had achieved that level of football and going into the Championship, it's a hard league anyway, coupling that with playing on a Thursday night to play on the Sunday, it was something that a lot of lads weren't used to.
“At least at Rovers lads have regular European football most seasons so they are adjusted to how it works, travelling and playing regularly.
“It was tough at the time, and the manager's (Owen Coyle) first time managing in Europe as well.
“But here we're well used to it, the circumstances you play in, the travel and hotels, it's all well planned.
“We're in a good spot now to take the bull by the horns, get ourselves into the next round, get a good draw, keep going, make the group stages this year, that's got to be the aim.”
As for the lessons learned from last year’s play-off defeat to Flora Tallinn, McCann said: “The big message from the gaffer is the fine details, the small details, take care of them and everything will take care of itself.
“You have to pay respect to these teams. Although they might not be heard of there is a lot of quality in Europe.
“You have to focus on the small details, be right in transition, because the opposition out there can punish you at any moment.
“Tuesday (in the first-leg) was a great example of how we started the game unbelievably well.
“The early goal settled us and the other goals gave us a great cushion to go over here, but it's by no means done, we have to go and do our job.”
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