Stephen Baxter may be preparing for his 13th European campaign as Crusaders manager, but he insists the club will never take it for granted.
The Crues take on Finnish outfit FK Haka in the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
And while the experienced Irish League boss admits playing on the continent brings its own challenges, he would not change it for the world.
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"We love the European games, it's a different type of football from what we normally do," said Baxter.
"We've had many brilliant nights and games in this competition, and we're really looking forward to it.
"This is something we don't take for granted, we're in a privileged position to be competing in Europe and we'll look to try and take our chance if we can.
"It's really exciting because it's something different because they are one-off games and we know little or nothing about who these players are, other than what we've seen on television.
"A small screen doesn't really help you other than how they shape up or their formations or how they move the ball.
"But to see them man to man in the flesh it's a totally different ball game.
"You're learning about a new team and it's always a challenge.
"They are a full-time team with great experience and some wonderful footballers.
"The heat comes into it, the travel comes into it but this is an exciting adventure."
The European games are obviously the main priority for the Crues at the minute, but the bread and butter of the Irish League is also on Baxter's radar.
"Whilst the European game is a fantastic adventure for us all, the league campaign is only four weeks away," he said.
"We have to keep working on our fitness levels, it's not just all about Thursday night.
"We will have another four weeks of hard work on our fitness and we'll have games coming up as well."
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