THE New Saints will be seeded in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying draw.

The JD Cymru Premier champions are among 15 other seeded clubs ahead of the draw on June 14th.

The Oswestry club will be hoping for a kind draw as coach Craig Harrison plots another crack at reaching the group stages of a European tournament along with the prestige attached.

The Saints have a co-efficient of 9.000 which means they join the likes of Hungarian giants Ferencváros, Azerbaijan champions Qarabag FK and Slovakians Slovan Bratislava in the seeded half of the draw.

The Saints will come up against one of 15 unseeded clubs.

Border Counties Advertizer: Action from TNS' clash at Conwy Borough. Picture by Brian Jones.

Danny Redmond in action for TNS at Conwy Borough. Picture by Brian Jones.

Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar and KI Klaksvik of the Faroe Isles are the top ranked unseeded clubs while Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia are also among the potential opponents.

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Raków Czestochowa of Poland and Partizani Tirana of Albania each represent potential tough away legs for the Saints along with BK Häcken of Sweden and Farul Constanta of Romania.

The Saints could face a trip to the Baltics with Valmieras FK in the unseeded half of the draw along with FC Ballkani of Kosovo.

Border Counties Advertizer: BANGOR, WALES - 30 APRIL 2023: The New Saints' Ryan Brobbell during the 2022/23 FAW JD Welsh Cup Final between The New Saints FC & Bala Town FC at Nantporth Stadium, Bangor, Wales, 30 April 2023. (Pic by John Smith/FAW).

Ryan Brobbel in action for TNS. Pic by John Smith/FAW.

The Oswestry club will likely pin their hopes on drawing one of the lower unseeded clubs which include Larne of Northern Ireland, Hamrun Spartans of Malta, Swift Hesperange of Luxembourg and FC Struga of Macedonia.

The Saints will be aiming to improve on their recent Champions League record having lost to Northern Irish side Linfield in the first qualifying round last season before being dumped out of the UEFA Conference League at the hands of Víkingur Reykjavík of Iceland.

The club will instead bid to repeat and improve upon their best recent European showing when they reached the second qualifying round of the Champions League in 2020 before a dismal 9-0 aggregate thrashing at the hands of Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria in the Conference.

Meanwhile Declan McManus took home the coveted JD Cymru Premier Player of the Season trophy at the FAW National League Awards.

Border Counties Advertizer: Cardiff, WALES - 11th February 2023: Danny Davies of TNS in action against Dixon Kabongo of Cardiff Met. Cardiff Metropolitan University v The New Saints in the JD Cymru Premier at Cyncoed Campus on the 11th February 2023. (Pic by Lewis Mitchell/FAW)

Danny Davies in action for TNS. Picture by Pic by Lewis Mitchell/FAW.

Throughout the 2022/23 campaign, the number nine continued the rich vein of form he has shown ever since his move to Park Hall in the summer of 2021 and he ended the season with a total of 29 league goals.

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His attacking prowess helped fire TNS to a record-breaking 15th JD Cymru Premier title, and in doing so, he broke the record for most goals scored by a single player in a single season since the introduction of a 12-team top-flight in 2010.

In addition to his Player of the Season trophy, during the event, the former Dunfermline man was recognised as the season’s Golden Boot winner, while teammate, Connor Roberts, was presented with the JD Cymru Premier Golden Glove award.

Border Counties Advertizer: The New Saints goalkeeper Connor Roberts makes a save during the UEFA Champions League qualification round match at Windsor Park, Belfast. Picture date: Wednesday July 13, 2022..

The New Saints goalkeeper Connor Roberts makes a save. 

The Scottish striker said: “I’d really like to say thank you very much for all of your votes.

“When I moved to The New Saints I never expected to be holding two Player of the Season awards and two Golden Boots, so it’s something that’s kind of surreal to me. I just want to say thank you very much to every single person who voted.”

The 2022/23 JD Cymru Premier Team of the Season was also announced in the capital, and it was revealed that McManus had been named in the 11 alongside Danny Davies, Danny Redmond and Ryan Brobbel.

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