Lions Euro trek starts in Hungary

Millwall will meet Hungarian champions Ferencvaros in the UEFA Cup next month.

The Lions, who were seeded for the draw, have been paired with one of the strongest of the unseeded clubs for the home and away legs on 16 and 30 September.

Ferencvaros won the Hungarian league and cup double last season and already head the league this season after winning their first three games.

They only entered the UEFA Cup after being knocked out of the Champions League in the final qualification round by Sparta Prague following an extra time defeat.

If Millwall beat Ferencvaros, they will reach the potentially lucrative UEFA Cup group stage, which will be split into eight groups of five, with the first of five group stage matchdays on 21 October.

Millwall chairman Theo Paphitis, who attended the draw in Monaco, welcomed the start of the club's firstever European campaign.

He said: "It is a great draw, we are looking forward to it. Any game at this level is going to be a tough one, we are just glad to be in the hat."

However, player-manager Dennis Wise admitted before the draw he hoped the club would be paired with one of the minnows.

Wise said: "It's fantastic that we are in this competition and we're looking forward to it.

"We want to get into the group stage financially and for us as players because it will give the lads a good boost and be a different experience.

"It will be nice to go to different countries, play there and get results in different places. That's why we want someone who's not very good in the first round so it's not too difficult really and hopefully that's what we'll get."

Ferencvaros have a fine European pedigree.

They won the UEFA Cup in 1965 and were runners-up to Leeds in 1968.

More recently, they beat Newcastle in their home UEFA Cup tie in 1996 before going out on aggregate.

Millwall qualified through finishing runners-up in last season's FA Cup and did not have to take part in preliminary rounds of the competition.

But player-manager Wise is determined not to allow his Millwall players to get distracted from their promotion campaign.

They have won their last two games and play Reading at The Den tomorrow with no new injury worries, but Kevin Muscat (knee) and Paul Ifill (Achilles) are still out.

Newcastle, who reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup last year, were drawn against Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin FC, who play in the Israeli league.

Middlesbrough were paired against Czech champions Banik Ostrava.

They will have home advantage in the first leg in their first ever European tie. And Rangers will take on Portugal's Maritimo, with the first leg taking place at Ibrox. Hearts will have home advantage in the first leg of their clash against Portuguese outfit Braga.

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