TOMMY Wright will be 50 next month and had a career in which he played for two of England's biggest clubs and won 31 caps for Northern Ireland.

And how many games did he play in any of the European cups? None. Ask him about his playing experience in European football and the best he can come up with is: "Well I did play in the Anglo-Italian Cup for Newcastle. That's it."

Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers: Wright played in goal for them all and did not manage a single appearance in either the old or new versions of the Champions League or Europa League. They closest he came was sitting on the bench for his first club, Linfield, when they played a handful of qualifiers in the old European Cup in the early 1980s. "I've waited a long time for this," says Wright. "Patience is a virtue."

The wait is over. After years without playing in Europe he will manage in it instantly, taking charge of his first game for St Johnstone against Rosenborg in Norway this evening. Around 300-400 fans will be there to cheer him on, including the 60 who joined Wright on the club charter from Glasgow to Trondheim yesterday morning. There was the inevitable excitement and expectation which accompanies a rare trip, but Wright's task is formidable. Rosenborg have not featured in the Champions League group stage since 2007 yet remain a substantial presence in European football. They also happen to be the current leaders of a Norwegian championship they have won 16 times in the past 21 seasons.

Wright knows what almost everyone expects to happen in the first leg of this Europa League second qualifying round tie in Lerkendal Stadium. Around 15,000 home fans are likely to attend and they aren't turning up for any plucky heroics from St Johnstone. The bookmakers have Rosenborg at 4/11 and St Johnstone at 8/1.

The manager has been around long enough to be comfortable with the underdog status. "People won't expect us to go through. It would be an upset," he said. "But we've tried to emphasise to the players that no-one thought we would finish third last season, everyone was saying where would we get goals without Fran Sandaza, blah blah blah. There are always things you have to get over. Rosenborg will be a tough task, but not a task we can't overcome."

The catalogue of first-hurdle falls by Scottish clubs over the past three years has been horrendous. Dundee United (three times), Hearts (twice), Motherwell (twice), Aberdeen, Falkirk, Hibernian, Queen of the South and St Johnstone themselves – against Turkish side Eskisehirspor last year – have been knocked out by opponents of varying strength. All of it has given Scotland's co-efficient a terrible battering. St Johnstone, Hibs and Motherwell are all in the Europa League again this season, but for how long? "We're not going into the game worrying about Scotland's co-efficient, we're going into it worrying about getting a result," said Wright. "But I can't do anything else but think about it!

"It's probably the same for Pat [Fenlon at Hibs], Stuart [McCall at Motherwell] and Neil [Lennon at Celtic]. How poorly Scottish teams have done gets thrown up at us. I've tried to bat it off by being positive and really getting the players to be focused on the game. I can't change what's happened, we can only concentrate on what we have to do.

"Eskisehirspor were a very good side. The same with Rosenborg this year. For the co-efficient we need sustained improvement: it needs Hibs, St Johnstone, Motherwell all getting into the Europa League proper. That could make it easier for the teams that will follow. But it's a vicious circle and it's one that's difficult to break. We just have to concentrate on what we can affect, and we have a game where I think we can take something out of it."

St Johnstone's average crowds fell from 4200 to 3700 last season despite them finishing third. The absence of Rangers' travelling support was a factor but even the club's own season-ticket sales were down. The consequences were explained to Wright when chairman Steve Brown chose him to replace Steve Lomas. "The chairman offered me the job and explained what the budget was going to be. He said it had to be cut. It'll be the lowest budget we've had since we got into the top league. I'm comfortable with that.

"We will make at least one more signing. We're getting quality players thrown at us every day and the wage demands have dropped. As one agent said 'when the music stops playing there's not going to be enough chairs'. We look at what we can provide. The club is stable, it's run well, players know that if we say 'we'll pay you x' then x will be in their bank account every month. We may pay lower basics than other clubs but we do pay good bonuses and that's an attraction for players."

Finances are so tight that if St Johnstone get an encouraging result, and a larger crowd turns out for a "live" second leg in Perth next Thursday, it would make a difference to Wright's spending power. For the man about to participate in European football for the very first time, it's all part of the experience.