European qualification is a tonic all Scottish clubs want to savour ... but it can also be a POISONED CHALICE

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

The flights and hotels have been booked. The credit card hasn't yet been maxed out.
The promise of an adventure with friends in foreign fields feels like a just reward for the hard miles travelled in support of their teams throughout the duration of last season.
But, as supporters of Hibs and Dundee United prepare to dust down their passports for trips to Denmark and Luxembourg across the next fortnight, the sense of anticipation at what lies ahead should also come with a slight degree of trepidation.
In recent years, the European experience for Premiership sides finishing among the best of the rest hasn't always been quite as billed.
While participation is good for the soul and can be beneficial to a club's bank balance, it's often proven to be as much of a curse as a blessing.
Just like the holidaymaker who arrives at their half-built hotel, continental competition may not be as seen in the brochure.
Two years ago, United's first European tie in nine years ended with Tannadice rocking after a brilliant victory over AZ Alkmaar.
Long-suffering supporters were in raptures after their side saw off the Dutch. Only just appointed manager, it was truly the start of his dreams for Jack Ross.
What ensued was perhaps the most dramatic collapse in confidence ever witnessed in a Scottish side.
Having lost their next home league game to Livingston, United were torn asunder in the Netherlands. They lost seven goals without reply and it might well have been double figures. Then they simply went into free fall.
Heavy defeats to Hearts and St Mirren preceded a nine-goal home defeat to Celtic. It was like someone had switched off the power supply. Ross was gone in a flash, doubtless cursing the fact he'd inherited such an arduous early assignment.
At least he managed to see the start of that domestic season. Graham Alexander didn't even get that far at Motherwell.
The former Scotland international had arrived at Fir Park in January 2021 with a remit to keep the struggling Steelmen in the top flight. He achieved that, then impressively guided them to fifth place and into Europe the following year.
A Conference League qualifying round tie with Sligo Rovers seemed like the perfect way to start the next campaign. In fact, what looked like a shoo-in was anything but.
Beaten home and away by the League of Ireland side, Alexander felt the wrath of the faithful - and then some.
He met with chairman Jim McMahon the next day and told him he'd come to the end of the road. So much for the glory of Europe.
Defeats to unheralded sides haven't always immediately proved fatal, yet they can leave managers seriously wounded.
After Antonio Conte approved him as Steve Clarke's successor as Kilmarnock manager in 2019, Angelo Alessio's first competitive game should have been a cakewalk against Welsh minnows Connah's Quay Nomads.
A 2-1 away victory in the first leg preceded a scarcely believable 2-0 loss at Rugby Park in the return. The former Italy and Chelsea assistant was on borrowed time from that moment on. It was a wonder he limped on to December before inevitably being bulleted.
Two years back, Lee Johnson was also left teetering on the brink after Hibs suffered a humiliating 2-1 loss to Andorran side Inter Club D'Escaldes.
While Hibs did prevail with a comfortable second-leg win, many fans never forgave Johnston for having the nerve to tell them to calm down after the disaster in the principality. After being hammered 5-0 at home by Aston Villa and losing 3-2 to Livingston, he was shown the door.
But it's not just these early qualifying rounds which should spell danger for any manager eagerly anticipating a continental campaign.
Group-stage participation is another minefield. Tasked with balancing European commitments with the domestic bread and butter, many have discovered to their cost that this high-wire act is nigh impossible.
Robbie Neilson's return to Hearts saw him take the team out of the Championship prior to a third-placed Premiership finish in 2022, with the prize coming in the form of European qualification.
Having coped fairly well with a brutal schedule up to Christmas, Hearts' legs gave way down the home stretch. They won just three of their final 11 league matches and were beaten into third spot by an Aberdeen side whose lighter load saw them surge up the table after Barry Robson succeeded Jim Goodwin in the January.
Robson, though, would quickly appreciate exactly what Neilson had to contend with.
In their eight league matches immediately following Europa or Conference League games the following season, the Dons claimed just one victory and two draws. By February 2024, with the team destined for the bottom-six, the axe fell.
Hearts, by then under the stewardship of Steven Naismith, were well on their way to reclaiming third place again. The fact the Tynecastle side were out of Europe by August after losing on aggregate to PAOK in the Conference League probably had something to do with it.
With European football guaranteed until Christmas, in monetary terms, the prize for finishing immediately behind the Old Firm was north of £5million.
And yet, for the third successive season, the manager who finished third would not see out the following term.
With just one draw and eight losses in all competitions at the start of last season, Naismith didn't even make it to the end of September.
Neil Critchley replaced him and recorded only one win from five games immediately after European matches as the team laboured and finished in the bottom six. The Englishman was also soon on his way.
This weekend, his successor Derek McInnes takes Hearts to face Stirling Albion and, in midweek their League Cup group stage campaign concludes with a home game against Dumbarton.
It feels an awful long way from the bright lights of European football to which the Tynecastle men are accustomed. But, having seen too many Scottish sides startled by them in recent times, in one sense, that may prove to be no bad thing.