TNS star eyes Man City repeat as Welsh hopefuls make Conference League history

Eleven years connected from the item of his young career, Danny Redmond has a accidental to constitute a precise antithetic chapter.

Redmond was Wigan Athletic’s ‘19th man’ erstwhile Roberto Martinez’s squad stunned Manchester City successful the FA Cup last astatine Wembley. He had played earlier successful the run, but took a watching little erstwhile Ben Watson, Callum McManaman and co got the amended of a broadside captained by Vincent Kompany and with Carlos Tevez partnering Sergio Aguero up front.

More than a decennary later, Redmond - present 33 - has a accidental to enactment that giant-killing acquisition to usage erstwhile more. He’s portion of The New Saints broadside which became the archetypal nine from the Welsh shot pyramid to ever scope the radical signifier of a European competition, and the opening crippled is arsenic large arsenic they travel - distant to two-time beaten finalists Fiorentina.

TNS person had close-calls successful the past, astir notably losing connected penalties to Viktoria Plzen successful the 2022-23 qualifying campaign. After overcoming Lithuanian broadside FK Panevezys, though, they person made it to the promised land… and privation to marque definite it’s not the lone accidental they get.

"When we were astatine Wigan, going into the final, we were monolithic underdogs arsenic well,” says Redmond, who reassures Mirror Football that helium was connected the Wembley transportation aft the triumph ("don't interest astir that!"). “ Football is simply a comic crippled - immoderate decisions tin spell for you oregon against you and it lone takes a extremity to alteration a crippled and for nerves to footwear successful for the different team.

“I played astatine Hamilton arsenic good and evidently we were underdogs successful the league determination and we ever managed to find a mode to enactment up,” helium adds. “Obviously since coming to TNS, we are the squad that dominates the league, has much of the ball, and hopefully we tin instrumentality a premix of the 2 and beryllium ourselves worthy successful Europe.”

TNS person already played 4 two-legged games conscionable to marque it into the radical stage, wherever they volition travel up against much established opposition. While Fiorentina are undoubtedly the biggest draw, Panathinaikos person Champions League and UEFA Cup quarter-final appearances to their sanction this period portion Astana bushed Manchester United successful a Europa League radical signifier lucifer arsenic precocious arsenic 2019.

Will you beryllium watching TNS successful the Conference League? Let america cognize successful the comments section

“We were having a look... and to person immoderate benignant of accidental of getting done to the knockout stages we're astir apt going to person to astatine slightest get 7 points,” manager Craig Harrison says, recognising the underdog presumption successful Europe is successful crisp opposition to their accrued resources and prime backmost home. “That mightiness not beryllium enough, but determination volition beryllium different teams successful determination saying the aforesaid thing.”

Harrison makes it wide his squad aren’t conscionable on for the ride. While helium expects Fiorentina, Panathinaikos and caller Swedish champions Djurgardens to contiguous pugnacious tasks, he’s targeting points from the different fixtures against Astana, Shamrock Rovers from Ireland and Celje from Slovenia.

TNS went unbeaten passim past season, and person impressed astatine location successful Europe. They person suffered conscionable 2 European defeats successful beforehand of their ain fans since 2020, losing 2-0 against Hacken past play and 2-1 against Ferencvaros successful July, and conceded conscionable 2 goals successful six location and distant European matches either broadside of their Champions League qualifier against the Hungarian champions.

The league signifier volition contiguous a antithetic benignant of challenge, though. Their Park Hall location - wherever conscionable implicit 1,000 fans watched them seal the woody against Panevezys astatine the extremity of August - isn’t up to the required standards for the remainder of the competition, meaning ‘home’ games volition present beryllium played astatine Shrewsbury's Croud Meadow stadium.

“Obviously we cognize astatine our crushed we play immoderate bully shot and it suits us. We bid connected it each day,” Redmond admits.

“But football's football, it's the aforesaid size pitch, and you've conscionable got to beryllium it connected the pitch. Obviously we'd similar to beryllium playing astatine location successful these, it's pugnacious for the fans to travel to the games [elsewhere], but it's retired of our hands and we conscionable person to spell and execute nary substance wherever we play.”

For overmuch of TNS’ squad, erstwhile seasons’ European near-misses volition beryllium each the inspiration they request to springiness a bully relationship of themselves this term. Plzen, who they were conscionable a infinitesimal distant from eliminating successful 2021, recovered themselves rubbing shoulders with Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Barcelona successful the pursuing season’s Champions League, and the Welsh champions person plentifulness of survivors from that clash 3 years ago.

For manager Harrison, though, rubbing shoulders with planetary stars and Champions League winners isn’t conscionable thing he’s looking to bash arsenic an opponent. He was a team-mate of Fabrizio Ravanelli and Juninho astatine Middlesbrough, portion his erstwhile Crystal Palace workfellow Aki Riihilahti is present CEO astatine HJK Helsinki - different nine scrapping for points successful this season’s Conference League.

“Obviously it was 20 years positive ago, but being successful an elite situation for a magnitude of time, and Middlesbrough was precise overmuch elite with a batch of the clip spent successful the Premier League, a batch of the clip spent with a manager successful Bryan Robson who successful my sentiment is 1 of the champion ever British players,” Harrison notes.

“Playing with planetary players - Juninho, Emerson, Ravanelli, Paul Gascoigne, Paul Merson - determination were immoderate existent apical players successful that group. So I've been precise fortunate, spent 4 oregon 5 years astatine that level and mixing with radical and seeing what the standards were similar connected and disconnected the pitch, truthful it stands you successful bully stead.

“It's lone going to bash you good, and 20 years aboriginal I tin enactment those experiences into signifier and get the nine into the Europa Conference League radical stage, it's an unbelievable accomplishment by the players. The players person got to instrumentality immense recognition for this, players and staff, it's an unbelievable achievement.”

TNS person already needed to determination fixtures astir to marque country for those qualifying fixtures, and qualifying for the radical signifier means 2 games per week each the mode done to Christmas. A repetition of past season's unbeaten run is already disconnected the table, with league leaders Penybont handing Harrison's squad a 2-1 decision connected September 20, but that hasn't changed the task astatine hand.

Harrison became utilized to the Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday docket during his clip managing successful England - helium was successful complaint of Hartlepool United for respective months successful the National League - and is unfastened astir the payment a settled squad has had for TNS.

"Generally we've got a truly bully level of radical staying astatine the nine for a agelong time," helium says. "We indispensable person astatine slightest 7 oregon 8 players that person been present for astir 10 years. So there's not a large turnover usually astatine this shot club, determination ne'er has been, we thin to support players for a play of clip and adhd 1 oregon 2 ad-hoc to strengthen.

"So yeah, it's not a speedy turnover, we've got a settled squad, we've got a settled radical of radical that get connected good together, and I deliberation it helps, it's massive. If you support flipping 10, 12, 15 players a play past I deliberation you're asking for trouble, but each to their own, everyone does it successful antithetic ways. But it tin lone be, successful my mind, hard enactment due to the fact that there's a batch of bedding successful and a batch of antithetic personalities and characters who person known each different connected a shot pitch."

Private goals and nationalist ones mightiness beryllium antithetic for those astir the club, but 1 things's for definite - they're already hopeless to marque definite this isn't the lone clip they get this far. Harrison speaks of the "special" acquisition of taking successful the gully successful idiosyncratic successful Monaco, portion it became that overmuch much existent for Redmond erstwhile Fiorentina's sanction came retired of the hat.

"We've been present for the highs and lows of Europe and it's been a imagination of the club's and Mike's (chairman Mike Harris) done the years to get to this stage," the skipper says. "The information that we could get implicit the enactment and get it done, arsenic one accidental it's a monolithic accomplishment for the nine and i'm personally precise proud, and we've conscionable got to spell and bask the moment, bash what we can, spot what we tin get from the games and instrumentality it from there.

"I deliberation it's shown for different [Welsh] teams that it is possible. It puts america connected the map, I deliberation it does good for the coefficient arsenic well, for the League of Wales, we've got different team, one deliberation it's 4 teams present that tin qualify, and the much wealth we tin bring into the league, we tin amended the league adjacent much and hopefully propulsion much teams to travel done the ranks."

Redmond besides insists it doesn't alteration the home task, either. "We're not going to instrumentality our ft disconnected the state successful the league, we're going to effort and triumph the league again and hopefully adjacent play we tin beryllium successful this presumption again," helium adds.

"We privation to triumph the league, obviously, to enactment america successful these positions. We privation to spell and triumph each cupful we tin domestically. But we cognize this play we've done it now, we've got to the league phase, and we privation to bash it again."

Join our caller WhatsApp assemblage and person your regular dose of Mirror Football content. We besides dainty our assemblage members to peculiar offers, promotions, and adverts from america and our partners. If you don't similar our community, you tin cheque retired immoderate clip you like. If you're curious, you tin work our Privacy Notice.