NO sooner had St Johnstone fans come to terms with their good news, than the club delivered more.

They announced that Murray Davidson had agreed to re-sign for the club after a close season in which it had seemed certain he would move to England. The 25-year-old midfielder, who has been capped by Scotland, had sought a move as a free agent but there were no offers he found acceptable and he was responsive when St Johnstone offered him new terms.

"It's great news for the club," said Tommy Wright, manager of the Perth side. "It's no secret that Murray had indicated that he wanted to play in England and I can fully understand why, but he was always in touch with the chairman and I over the summer and he told us that if nothing came his way down south then Saints were the only team in Scotland he would sign for. He put pen to paper before the Europa League game, and it's great to have him back."

It has been quite a couple of days in Perth. After the thrill of eliminating Rosenborg from the Europa League on Thursday night, the chairman, Steve Brown, was yesterday confronted by the practical issues which come with having less than a week to mobilise a club and its supporters for a trip to Belarus, with his club facing FC Minsk in the third qualifying round. "It is extremely difficult for us to get visas because of the lack of time between beating Rosenborg and flying out on Wednesday," he explained. "We are also playing in Grodno near the Polish border rather than Minsk, because of their stadium situation.

"I'm sure some supporters will somehow get their way out to Belarus but it won't be easy. It's all a bit frantic and very difficult when you require visas. It takes five days to process them and we have only six days to organise the trip. So we actually had to put the wheels in motion before playing Rosenborg in the second leg. That made us a bit uneasy. It could be the kiss of death.

"But it wasn't a case of being over-confident or arrogant. It was down to the practicalities. We had to gather up the passports and get visa photos taken for all the players and staff who might be travelling before a ball was even kicked. They had to be shipped down to London because you need an invitation to go into Belarus. We couldn't afford to await the outcome of the game or we wouldn't get in. Maybe some thought has to go into this at UEFA level if it is going to be so tight."

Perth was yesterday coming to terms with a result which few other than Wright had dared to anticipate, namely St Johnstone successfully completing the job they started with a 1-0 win in Trondheim last week. Drawing 1-1 with Rosenborg in front of 7850 supporters at McDiarmid Park put them into the third qualifying round on a 2-1 aggregate. "It was undoubtedly the best night of my football life," said Brown. "I still don't think it has sunk in.

"They probably should have scored near the end but it would have been hard on us if we had lost out. We thoroughly deserved it over the two legs and I don't think anyone can argue with that. There were nearly 8000 fans and what an atmosphere they created. They really lifted the lads and the hairs on the back of my necks were up at times. If we can only harness that going forward. We can't do any more to bring them in so hopefully they will stick by us. Even if half of them come back it would make such a difference to what we are trying to do here."

Brown paid tribute to his father, former long-serving club chairman, Geoff. "My dad turns 70 on Monday and he is absolutely delighted. I said after the first leg that this was down to him. He laid the groundwork for it. I've only been at it a year and a half. He put in the hard miles and he built the foundations.

"It would have been a great shame if we had lost at McDiarmid after winning away for the first time in Europe. Now this definitely has to be right up there with the win over Hamburg 42 years ago, among our top results."

One of the big contributions over both legs was from goalkeeper Alan Mannus, and team-mate Paddy Cregg have him a glowing tribute. "Alan is the best goalkeeper in Scotland, for me," said the midfielder. "I am just baffled that clubs weren't battling to sign him over the summer. The bloke is unbelievable. I don't see why he couldn't play in the English Premier League. Alan will get rewarded in his football career, he is too good not to."