Motherwell skipper Declan Gallagher reckons Scottish clubs don't get the credit they deserve for progressing in Europe.
The Steelmen secured their place in the second qualifying round of the Europa League last night with a win over Northern Irish Premiership side Coleraine.
Rangers saw off Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar and Aberdeen beat Viking FK in Norway to join Celtic in the third qualifying round, but Gallagher reckons the achievements of Scottish clubs are always played down.
He said: "You look at it, it's the Europa League and it's the best of countries from all over Europe but people turn round and say ‘it’s a part-time team, they should be beating them.
"It’s nothing to do with ‘Motherwell done well, it's Motherwell got through on a poor pitch with bad decisions’ or 'Motherwell were rubbish'.
"It’s always negative. It's never Motherwell did well, they've now got a big tie against a good team in Be'er Sheva.
"You never see that down in England, you never see them being negative about their teams. It's always, 'they are the best' and that breeds confidence for English teams.
“And I just don’t feel Scottish football has that.
"Before every game, every team in Scotland is written off and there’s no backing for Scottish teams to do well.
“I think if we get that belief and we get the backing of every fan in Scotland then Scottish clubs will progress, they will get better."
Motherwell will head to Israel on Thursday to face Hapoel Be'er Sheva for the chance to play either Viktoria Plzen or SønderjyskE in the ply-off round.
And Gallagher says leading the Steelmen in Europe has been a career high for the Scotland international and his dreaming of reaching the group stages.
He added: "The fact it's one-legged ties, it's like a cup final and anything could really happen.
"It's one of the better draws that we could have asked for, but it's still three good teams, including Be'er Sheva, so it's going to be a hard ask but at the end of the day you can always dream.
"It's definitely a career high, having never played in Europe before, and it's a career high for a lot of boys in there.
"I know Tony Watt likes to wind everybody up and say that he's the experience in Europe for us and to look up to him, but it's definitely great for us and the further we progress the better it is for the club."
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