St Johnstone face Turkish side Eskisehirspor in Europa League
- Published
St Johnstone goalkeeper Alan Main chats to Monaco counterpart Fabien Barthez ahead of St Johnstone's last European match
St Johnstone have been drawn against Turkish side Eskisehirspor in the Europa League second qualifying round.
It is Saints' third time in European competition, where they enjoy an unbeaten home record.
The Perth side's opponents only qualified after Besiktas were banned by Uefa from European competition due to financial issues.
However, the Istanbul club has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who have yet to issue a decision.
If Besiktas are successful in challenging their punishment, Bursaspor, who themselves won an appeal against expulsion at CAS last week, would step in.
The first leg will be played on 19 July with the return leg a week later. However, the order of matches remains unclear.
Saints said on their official Twitter account: "Europa Cup home/away legs and dates still to be totally confirmed lots of conflicting info out there so sorry again for misunderstanding."
Manager Steve Lomas admitted the uncertainty was not ideal but he is excited about the prospect of facing strong opposition.
"Whatever the draw is going to be, we are back in Europe and it's something for the fans to enjoy," he said.
"It looks like we're going to Turkey, we just don't know for sure who we are playing.
"It's not going to be easy to prepare but we will get on with it and look forward to it. It's great for the club and it's great for the supporters."
Eskisehirspor were founded in 1965 and have finished as league runners-up in Turkey on three occasions.
Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd signed for them in July 2011, but played only two matches before leaving in December of that year, claiming he had not been paid.
Saints first played in Europe in the 1970-71 Uefa Cup when they knocked out German side Hamburg and Vasas Budapest of Hungary before losing to Zeljeznicar Sarajevo of the then Yugoslavia.
After finishing third in the Scottish Premier League in season 1998-99 Saints qualified for the Uefa Cup where they succumbed 6-3 on aggregate to Monaco, external after defeating Finnish side VPS Vaasa.