The Renfrewshire edition of Race Across the World is now in full swing.
Getting to Iceland from Scotland wouldn’t ordinarily be a huge undertaking but given the paucity of summer flights and the rate with which the price rocketed once it became clear St Mirren would be heading there instead of Albania for their return to the European arena, it has required supporters to show greater invention and patience when planning their route.
Around 3-400 are now expected in Reykjavik for Thursday night’s Conference League second qualifying round first leg against Valur and few have flown direct, with some going via layovers as diverse as Dusseldorf, Latvia, Amsterdam and even Budapest.
Tip of the hat must also go to one former wearer of the Paisley Panda suit, Colin Bright, who has made the long trip from his new home in Melbourne to ensure he didn’t miss the club’s first UEFA tie since 1987. Now that’s dedication.
Stephen Robinson is well aware of how significant a moment this is for many Saints supporters who have watched fans of other sides head off to Europe over the past four decades with increasing levels of jealousy.
The manager has left no stone unturned in his preparations, believing his team can put in a strong first leg performance that would then give them a great chance of progressing to round three in front of a sold-out SMISA Stadium next Thursday night.
“Fans see it as an adventure but that is what fans have to do,” said the Northern Irishman. “They go through all the bad times. They pay an absolute fortune to watch their football.
“So they have got to enjoy these times. The home match will be a fantastic experience but we have to make sure we come back for the second leg very much in the tie if not ahead. That would then give them something to cheer us on for, with the even bigger incentive of trying to progress.
“I believe this is only the fifth time the club has been involved in European football so that speaks volumes for what the players have achieved. But we don’t want to go out with a whimper. We want to progress.
“There is a big incentive for us to progress with this week’s draw for the next round. But I’ve been to see Valur, I’ve watched quite a lot of footage and they’ll be a tough nut to crack.
“They’re a good side who have started the Icelandic season very well. We have to overcome that hurdle but certainly there’s a big goal to be achieved if we can progress.”
Robinson went out to Iceland to watch Valur take on Vllaznia in the previous round and has also been poring over hours of footage from recent league matches. The element of surprise shouldn’t be in Valur’s armoury.
He added: “I’ve been out there myself and my chief scout Martin Foyle has been doing a lot of digging on them as well. The world’s a smaller a place now so we’ve a lot of footage of them from their last six league games. There’s as much preparation been done as if we were playing Celtic, Rangers, Hearts or Hibs.
“It’s hard to compare levels, it’s hard to compare the Icelandic league to the SPFL. What we do know is that they have some very gifted technical players, the biggest one being Gylfi Sigurdsson.
“They’re very well coached, very organised with a style of play that means they are a possession-based team. But that gives us an opportunity to go press them and put our game onto them.”
Recent St Mirren recruit Shaun Rooney misses out due to a suspension picked up while with St Johnstone but there is better news on Alex Iacovitti and Scott Tanser who have both been nursing injuries.
“Alex came off not long after coming on against Carlisle which was a concern at the time but we feel it’s more of a back and neural issue than an actual hamstring strain,” explained Robinson.
"When you see a hamstring injury, you fear the worst straight away. But we have the best physio in the UK in Gerry Docherty and when he tells me there isn't much to worry about then I sleep a wee bit better. We're quietly hopeful he could be involved in the second leg.
"Scott's a very fit boy and we're hoping he will take a place on the bench minimum. He gives me real competition and options He is back fit again. He has had an injection in his back and he has responded brilliantly to that.”
