Dungannon Swifts winger Thomas Maguire says that there will be “more expectation” on his side this year but they go into the new campaign with a “spring in their step”.
Rodney McAree’s side won the Irish Cup for the first time in May with a dramatic penalty shootout win against Cliftonville in the final.
That earned them European qualification for the first time in 18 years, and they will face Liechtenstein side FC Vaduz in the second qualifying round of the Uefa Conference League.
Maguire hopes they can build upon last year’s success which also included an impressive fourth place finish in the Irish Premiership.
“There’s going to be more expectation, but I think we’ll being going into the season with a spring in our step and we’ll be confident in where we can go and what we can do. We want to kick on from here,” he told BBC Sport NI.
“It’s a great achievement for the club to win the Irish Cup, the European football is a bonus, especially for lads that haven’t experienced it, everyone is buzzing.
“We want to try win the first tie at least and get through to the next round, that would be incredible.”
The Swifts travel to Liechtenstein for the first leg on Thursday, 24 July, but do have a competitive game before their European exploits as they face Linfield in the Charity Shield final on Friday, 4 July at Windsor Park.
Maguire believes the Irish Cup winners go into the game as underdogs against last season’s league winners, but that the fixture will serve as good preparation for Europe and the first league game of the season as the two sides will face each other again on opening weekend.
“It’s a bit of a bonus having this game to look forward to, it’s not a friendly, there’s something to play for against good opposition on a good pitch.”
