As he prepares to lead his St Johnstone side into a Europa League qualifying tie against Eskisehirspor on Thursday, it was typical that the Northern Irishman should have an anecdote about the one and only time he has played there.
The backdrop for our story is a mid-season friendly between Manchester City and Fenerbahce, during the 1993-94 season, at the Sukra Saracoglu Stadium, the old national ground where Graeme Souness once planted a Galatasaray flag defiantly in the centre circle.
"The boys had been to the casino the night before so they were thinking it was a little kickabout, but their fans saw it differently," the St Johnstone manager said. "I remember Andy Dibble was the goalkeeper and Tony Coton was on the bench and they were throwing flares from the stand at Andy.
"Andy had obviously pulled his thigh muscle and was going 'Ah, I have got to go off'. But I could see Tony going to [manager] Brian Horton, and saying 'No, no f****** chance'. He thought Dibbs was probably bluffing. But the next day I have never seen a bruise like it. Dibbs was a big boy and he had a bruise past his knees. It was black and blue. By continuing to kick the ball, he must have done himself a right bit of damage, but TC wasn't getting off that bench for love nor money."
Eskisehir isn't Istanbul, and their 13,500-capacity stadium isn't exactly a cauldron (even though the club do have their own band), but on their first European trip since that famous journey to play the millionaires of Monaco in 1999, St Johnstone can be sure of a hot reception.
Even for a night match, the temperature at kick-off will be about 25 degrees Celsius.
"I can't remember if we won the game, but it was September, October and it was hot even then," said Lomas who, with ginger hair and freckles, might find the conditions a challenge. "Hopefully they have got a shaded dugout, otherwise I will need my Factor 64."
About 130 fans will fly with the team to Turkey for what promises to be a terrific occasion, but the circumstances around the match haven't been ideal. It was only a week ago that the Court of Arbitration for Sport finally upheld a Uefa ban against Besiktas which effectively confirmed the opposition for the tie. The journey is a four-and-a-half hour charter, then a short bus journey, but the short notice has meant flight prices climbing and thousands being added on to the bill for a club who can ill afford the extra expense.
"If you book EasyJet three months in advance you get it for 50 quid, if you book it a week in advance you pay £150," Lomas said. "It is not like you are getting a chest full of gold for competing at this stage so it has been tough."
There is further uncertainty around the fixture due to the fact that Kris Boyd is suing the Turkish club for about £5 million which he claims he is owed, money that if not paid could yet result in Eskisehirspor being thrown out of the competition.
Lomas plans to speak to the former Scotland striker, now at Portland Timbers in the MLS, for a briefing in the next few days. Instead of a former Rangers striker, Eskisehirspor now have a former Celtic one, in the form of Diomansy Kamara.
"You only have to look through their squad to see the quality of player they have got," Lomas said. "They have various guys who are international players. They have got good pedigree, that is for certain. Let's be honest, the reason Kris Boyd has gone there is for money so they have obviously got financial clout, albeit they are in a bit of a situation."
St Johnstone have hardly been idle in the transfer market this summer and one man who feels he has something to prove is Gregory Tade. The Frenchman arrived on a two-year deal after a successful spell at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, in preference to offers from a club in Romania and Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk, just 12 months after Derek McInnes had tried and failed to get his signature.
The 25-year-old, originally from Nantes in France, has been in Scotland for six years but Thursday's match will be his first in continental football and an opportunity to show how far he has come.
"I grew up with friends in France who were Turkish and they were crazy about football," Tade said. "I'm still in touch with a couple of them and they told me Eskisehirspor are a good side, but because they're fans of Galatasaray and Besiktas they don't think they're great. My friends are happy that I'm the first one from our neighbourhood to compete in the Europa League.
"When I was growing up I supported Nantes, and I went to plenty of European games as a fan. The match that sticks out was the 1996 Champions League semi-final when they lost to Juventus."
Turkey is a country with a dubious racism record – last season former Arsenal player Emmanuel Eboue was pelted by missiles, and former Newcastle player Emre, now of Fenerbahce, was alleged to have made a racist slur against Didier Zokora of Trabzonspor.
But Tade has experienced something similar within Scottish football in the form of an alleged racist comment from then East Fife player Kevin Fotheringham and he says nothing from fans will bother him or compel him to walk off.
"I'm not worried about the threat of racism from the stands in Turkey," he said. "Fans are fans – just as long as it doesn't come from the players.
"It can throw you off your game if it's a player because you know the guy in front of you is not a good person. If it comes from the crowd it's different.
"I've seen videos on twitter of them burning flags, but we don't play the game in the stand. It's the first time for me playing in Europe and it was a big factor in my decision to join Saints so I'll see if I can handle the heat."
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