Saints Chairman Ralph Krueger has spoken of how the club intends to help it's supporters enjoy the European experience.

The problem for Saints fans, especially in the qualifying games of the Europa league is that they will have little notice of where the team might be playing, Saints enter at the third qualifying round stage, the draw for that is done on the 17th July, however the 2nd leg of the second qualifying round matches will not be completed until the 23rd which means that if Saints are away in their first game on 30th July then supporters will have only a week to get time off and arrange travel.

If they are away in the second leg that will give a fortnight which is a little more time but whichever way its not a lot of notice.

If Saints get through then they go into the play off stage, this is a little easier in the fact that the draw is done on 7th August the day after we would have played the 2nd leg and there are 13 days till the first of these games played on August 20th & 27th respectively.

"Watch this space" is the message from Ralph Krueger to the supporters as he revealed that the club was already making plans to help those who wished to travel to the away legs.

Speaking to the Daily Echo he said.

“Again, the whole business side, led by [chief executive] Gareth Rogers, is looking into the opportunity and we’ve had multiple meetings already on figuring out the best way to increase the fan experience and to allow the fans to be a part of all of this," he said.

"I know that that’s not my responsibility, but I’ve been on the edge of some of the conversations and I know there’s going to be some really good opportunities for the fans here at home and on the road.

"Exactly what the final product is I can’t tell you right now, but I can only say we’re working on it at a really high speed.

"The complication for the fans is that we don’t know our destinations or our schedule until the 17th of July and then it could still be two different opportunities for another week, so it’s actually the 24th before you know where you’re playing on the 30th, so all I can say to the fans is: The ones that want to see both matches, jot both those dates down and be flexible, because we need to be that too.

"We will do everything in our power to get onto the next round and then onto the group stage, where you would be able to plan a little bit more.

"But let’s first concentrate on that first difficult challenge.

"Again, we’ve looked at everything possible to make it a comfortable opportunity for the fans on the road too."

It is good to see the club being proactive to make sure that supporters can get to matches and that certainly contrasts with the situation in the recent past at the club where it seemed that every obstacle was put in the way of supporters to put them off including the infamous car parking charge fiasco.

For those who are hoping to travel, TUI is talking to a national travel agency who are interested in putting on trips, albeit on a smaller scale than the club itself, it should be pointed out that The Ugly Inside will have no responsibility for these trips, but the travel agency we have spoken to is reputable and has all the relevant ABTA bondings etc required by law. So in the words of our Chairman "Watch This Space"

Photo: Action Images

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