Graham Alexander says St Johnstone's Europa League clash against Galatasaray in Turkey last night will have been an amazing experience and wants that for Motherwell - but they have to earn it first.
The Perth side returned from Turkey with a 1-1 draw, ahead of the second leg at McDiarmid Park on Thursday night, continuing a mostly positive run of results for Scottish clubs in Europe this season.
Alexander points out that his side are only one game into their Premiership campaign, and his focus is on beating St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Sunday.
But he says Europe would be brilliant to be a part of, having watched Rangers, Celtic, Hibs, Aberdeen and St Johnstone be involved at various stages of the Champions League and Europa League over the last week or so.
Motherwell were involved in their own Europa League qualifiers last season, so it's not beyond them, but Alexander says that reward will only come if they continue to work hard.
"That sort of platform that St Johnstone were playing on last night was amazing," said Alexander.
"Galatasaray are a massive club in European football, with a great history and everything, and you're going toe-to-toe with them away from home.
"It's the whole build-up to those games, the different experiences you get from those type of games, and the players who played in that game will be enriched by the experience.
"But you have to earn that experience by doing a lot of good things over the course of the year to qualify.
"We've seen Scottish teams competing really well in the early stages in Europe this week, and it's encouraging for Scottish football.
"We want to be part of that scene, but you have to earn it over the course of the season to be a part of that.
"It's early days for that, we've only played one game, but certainly the club has a history of it and played in Europe at this time last season, so it's something that is achievable - but it's not on our radar right now, it's winning on Sunday which is our first focus."
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