Aaron McEneff is hoping to write another exciting chapter in European football as Glentoran prepare to take on RFS in the first qualifying round of the Uefa Conference League at the BetMcLean Oval on Thursday evening (kick-off 7.30pm).

The 30-year-old has already sampled some memorable moments in Europe having played in the Conference League group stages in back to back seasons with his previous club Shamrock Rovers.

Now McEneff is hoping he can taste some continental success with the Glens this campaign with RFS in his sights first.

“Yeah, I was fortunate enough to be part of the Shamrock Rovers squad which qualified for the Conference League group stages in 2022/23 and then the Europa League league phase in 2024/25,” said McEneff.

“It was a fantastic achievement to reach that stage of European competition and to test ourselves against some top quality opposition.

“We had some brilliant experiences along the way, including a hard-earned draw away to AEK Athens, while those campaigns gave everyone in the squad a huge amount of belief.

“I also played against AC Milan in a Europa League qualifier back in 2020. Unfortunately it was during Covid, so it was only a one-legged tie and we didn’t get the chance to play at the San Siro, but it was still an unbelievable night at Tallaght Stadium.”

“They had a side packed with stars including the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sandro Tonali but they only beat us 2-0 on the night.

“Those memories will stay with me for a lifetime and now my aim is to make more memories playing for Glentoran.

“This is obviously only the first qualifying round but there’s a determination about the squad to try and keep our European run going as long as possible.

“Having sampled those big occasions with Rovers I know anything is possible in football.”

The Glens will face an RFS side with an impressive recent European pedigree.

Following their UEFA Europa Conference League play-off victory over Linfield in 2022, RFS became only the second Latvian club to reach the group stage of a major UEFA competition, emulating Ventspils’ achievement in 2009/10.

They built on that success by qualifying for the UEFA Europa League league phase in 2024/25, where they recorded a memorable victory over Ajax, underlining the quality and experience they will bring to The BetMcLean Oval.

“All credit to RFS, they’ve shown over the last few years that they’re a very good side,” said the 30-year-old.

“They’ve picked up impressive results against teams like Fiorentina, Galatasaray and Anderlecht, while also beating Ajax and only narrowly losing to Eintracht Frankfurt.

“That tells you everything you need to know about the level they’re capable of performing at. Those experiences will have given them a huge amount of confidence and belief.

“I know from my own time at Shamrock Rovers how much playing in European competition helps you grow as a team, and I’ve no doubt it will have had the same effect on RFS.

“We can’t spend too much time worrying about them, though. Our focus has to be on ourselves and making sure we’re ready to deliver over the two legs.

“We’ve worked extremely hard since returning for pre-season and the manager and coaching staff have left no stone unturned to make sure we’re as prepared as possible.

“Now it’s up to us to produce a performance on Thursday night that puts us in a strong position going into the return leg in Riga.

“It will be brilliant to be back playing a competitive match in front of our supporters. They were outstanding for us throughout last season and I’m sure they’ll create another fantastic atmosphere.

“It’s up to us to give them a performance they can get behind and take into next week’s second leg.”

McEneff joined Glentoran back in January after his spell in the League of Ireland had come to an end.

And while he settled quickly into life at The Oval he has enjoyed getting back for pre-season and building things up ahead of the new campaign.

“It’s always a difficult one to move to a new club in January especially coming in from the League of Ireland as I was leaving a league which had not long finished to go to one which was only halfway through,” he said.

“I thought I did reasonably well in the last few months of the season, but I think it’s always better to get a full pre-season behind you and you’re up to speed with the manager’s plans and the rest of the squad.

“It’s a big season coming up for us as we were disappointed how the last one ended. I think it’s always like that when you end up with nothing to show for your efforts at the end.

“If you step back and look at the season as a whole though there was so much to be happy with and we were right in contention until the end.

“Our aim this season is to go again and challenge on all fronts because this club has been brought up on success and we want to add to it.

“This European campaign is important for us as we want a platform to build on ahead of the League starting.

“There’s a real determination about us all and our aim is to do our talking out on the pitch.”

Tickets for Thursday night’s UEFA Conference League First Qualifying Round first leg against RFS at The BetMcLean Oval are available now. Supporters can secure their place by visiting: https://www.glentoran.com/tickets/