Scott Ruscoe: Let the Euro journey live on!

TNS, so often champions of their own domestic top flight and therefore a staple of the Champions League qualifying rounds, this time make their entrance in the Europa League tonight.

This evening’s first qualifying round tie against Slovakia runners-up MSK Zilina means Welsh runners-up TNS do not have the ‘safety net’, as boss Scott Ruscoe called it, of exiting Champions League action and dropping into Europa League qualifying.

That puts an added layer of pressure on tonight’s tricky tie in Oswestry against a talented Zilina side, who are no strangers to advancing to the latter stages of Europa qualifying.

With the new Cymru Premier campaign still some three weeks away, tonight’s make-or-break European tie feels like a competitive contest dropped in the middle of pre-season – which it essentially is – and Park Hall chief Ruscoe wants his side to continue their journey at least until the league season kicks off next month.

“We haven’t got the safety net of the Europa League after we go out the Champions League, we need to give it a real go,” Ruscoe remarked.

“Let’s go be in that Europa second qualifying round when we’ve already started the (Welsh) league. That would be the best thing.

“The league doesn’t start till the 12th, we’ve got a three-week break before we play again if we win against Zilina.

“Otherwise it’s a long time off again, we’ve already had our pre-season, let’s keep the run going. Let’s stay in the competition, don’t let it pass you by.

“Don’t look at yourself after the game and think ‘I wish I’d have done that’, because as a coaching staff we are certainly not doing that. We’re setting this team up to be in the game in the first minute and still in the game in the 89th.

“We don’t want it to pass us by, it’s a big opportunity against tough opposition but let’s go prove how good we are.”

Including tonight, the Saints must win four rounds to reach the bright lights of the group stage.

While TNS have had to make do with pre-season friendlies against the likes of Barry Town, Tranmere Rovers, Liverpool Under-23s and Wolves Under-23s since returning to training in early July, tonight’s visitors are already up and running.

Pavol Stano’s men have won two and lost two from their opening four Slovak Supa Liga matches.

And Ruscoe knows that the youthful visitors, packed with teenagers and those in their early 20s from across Europa as well as from Argentina and Ghana, will bring an attacking flair.

Armenia midfielder Vahan Vardani Bichakhchyan, 21, has four goals in four games this season. Last season’s top scorer Jan Bernat is still on board and Jakub Paur and Patrik Il’ko have been in the goals already this term.

Ruscoe is hoping his side can take advantage of Zilina’s willingness to come out the traps in this evening’s one-legged tie, which will be played to a conclusion. He said: “They are full of younger players, with some experience as well, and different nationalities which is always a strength.

”These European teams pick the better players from different areas, their scouting network is good.

“They like to play possession-based football, play out from the back, pass through and create chances. They’ve got width, pace, the full-backs get on, they like to create and be high up the pitch.

“Where we’ve thought we might affect them is on the counter, they push full-backs high and we might break on them. That’s something we’re working on.”

European football is always a big occasion at Park Hall and perhaps none bigger than tonight where, in front of an empty stadium, TNS attempt to embark on a run that could bring vital resources in the post-Covid world.

TNS’s three new signings Louis Robles, Leo Smith and Ryan Astles could feature and Ruscoe knows the pull of European football.

He added: “New signings want to join the club because they’ve played FA Cup games, 200 league games but they haven’t played in Europe.

“There’s only so many years footballers can play and you want to play in everything you can.

“Some of our players have played 40 games in Europe which is an excellent achievement, it really is. You can play 500 league games and never play in Europe.”