Three years ago leaving Peterborough for Cork felt like taking a step into the unknown for Dan Murray. Now, as he passes the time at City's Prague hotel, he is glad to be seeing a side of the game he would have missed had he remained at London Road.

Murray will lead City out for the club's 11th European game in two seasons this evening full of optimism about his team's chances of causing another upset and winning a place in the Uefa Cup's group stages. More than that, though, he is determined that whenever this season's European adventure is over the club will go on to secure more tangible success at home, where a league and cup double remains a realistic target.

"It's funny, the players will often end up talking about some report that a club from the second or third division in England is interested in them and yet if you took a move like that you'd never have anything like this," he says.

"The lads in this Cork team will already be remembered for what we've done in European games because over the last couple of seasons we've beaten some fairly decent teams (Malmo, NEC Nijmegen, Ekranas and Djugardens) and if I never achieve anything else in my career those wins would give me something to look back on with pride.

"We get a bit of stick from time to time, though, that not many of us have actually won anything, and that's something we need to sort out now. We've been doing well back at home but we have to go on and win the league. Right now the Slavia game is what matters."

Murray is keenly aware of how great a breakthrough victory over two legs against the Czechs would be but already feels that the team has altered the way it is perceived with its defeat of Djugardens last month.

The success achieved thus far in Europe is down, he believes, to a combination of meticulous preparation and a collective belief within the squad that they can break new ground together. City have lost just one of their five European away games over the past two seasons.

"Pat Dolan was the most organised manager you could hope for in these sort of situations; he thought of everything. Damien's (Richardson) taken that on and we've flourished under him," he says.

"We've done exactly the same thing in the European games we've played so far; we've prepared well and then sought to dictate the course of the game.

"Against Slavia we'll look to do the same and we'll give it everything. I don't know how it will go for us in the end but what's certain is that we haven't come here to be a part of a game. We're not just here for the ride like some teams were in the past. We've come to get a result."