THE New Saints have a realistic chance of progressing to the Europa League group stages following Friday's play-off draw, in Geneva.
The Saints have been paired with Bulgarian side, CSKA Sofia, as they bid to reach the money spinning stages of the competition following their Champions League exit at the hands of Belgian league title holders, Anderlecht.
The first leg will take place on August 19, in the Bulgarian capital, at the Bulgarian Army Stadium, with the return leg taking place at Wrexham's Racecourse ground on August 26.
TNS General Manager, Ian Williams, is already anticipating an enticing encounter with the side who finished as runners up in the Bulgarian league last season, and said: "There is no doubt that this will be another great occasion. CSKA Sofia are another big side with lots of pedigree and it should make for another exciting tie.
"There are no easy games at this stage of the competition, but if we prepare well and use our experience from the previous games we have a good chance.
"It should be a good night in Sofia and hopefully another one to remember in Wrexham, and we want to encourage as many people to support us as possible.
"People have taken note of our performances in the last few games, and you don't get to this stage of the competition without playing well," he added.
Pedigree
CSKA's 31 national league titles and 23 national cup wins ranks them as the best performing Bulgarian side in history, and boast a plethora of notable former players include current Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, as well as Hristo Stoichkov and Yordan Letchkov, who both starred for the Bulgarian national side that came fourth at the 1994 World Cup.
However, the side has been unable to get its hands on silverware of any kind since 2008, and despite reaching the group stages of the Europa League last season, finished bottom of the pile after picking up their only point against eventual runners-up, Fulham.
This Friday night also sees the start of the new Welsh Premier League season with TNS taking on Prestatyn Town at Park Hall, and players and management were at Bodelwyddan Castle for the launch of the league's new 'Super 12s' format last week.
The fixture should be the perfect opportunity for fans to herald the new campaign, and get behind their team in the hope of another successful season.
As a special thank you for the support The New Saints have received on their European adventure so far, Club Chairman, Mike Harris, is offering a reduced price of just £5 for each adult carrying a copy of this week's Advertizer into Friday night's game with Prestatyn Town. Anyone Under 16 showing a copy of the paper through the gates will be allowed in free. Kick off is at 7.30pm.