"No disrespect to CSKA but it's not Barcelona" - says Derry City boss

The Candy Stripes trail 3-2 from the first leg of their UEFA Europa League first round qualifier at the Vasil Levski Stadium, but Lynch believes the tie remains firmly alive and says Derry must approach tonight's return with belief rather than trepidation.

Of course Barcelona are one of the finest European teams to have graced the Brandywell back in 2002 when Brazilian great Ronaldinho made his debut for the Catalans alongside the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Marc Overmars, Carles Puyol and Patrick Kluivert in a friendly match organised by the late former Derry City honorary president and Nobel Peace laureate John Hume.

The historic Lone Moor Road venue has also welcomed PSG and Gothenburg 20 years ago this month, Benfica in 1989 while the mighty Manchester United, Celtic, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham have also played there.

And while Bulgarian cup winners CSKA Sofia have a glorious history in European competition - twice reaching the last four of the European Cup - Lynch has reminded his players the 'Army Men' are far from formidable.

"I'm not going to sit here and try and have arrogance about us because I don't think we've done enough to do that," began the Derry boss. "What we have to do is understand the areas where we feel we can exploit them now that we have a little more knowledge of their personnel.

"Technically they are a very good team. They have some really good footballers and are a real threat. There were a couple of players we expected to play that didn't play. We were probably taken aback by the shape they played. It wasn't the shape we were expecting them to play.

"So who knows what Thursday is going to bring from their end. There's a couple of elements for our game we need to get better at. We need to show a little bit more confidence and composure. Hopefully at home, with our own supporters behind us that intimidation factor that I think the Brandywell will bring, we will go into it with plenty of belief."

CSKA's big summer signing Stefano Sensi - a two-time Serie A winner with Inter Milan - is reportedly on €60,000 a month, a reminder of the financial disparity between the clubs even with Derry's generous billionaire chairman Philip O'Doherty who hasn't held back regarding the Brandywell club's spending spree both on and off the pitch.

The Bulgarians are preparing to move into their brand new 18,000 seater stadium in Sofia this season and they plan to re-establish the club as a dominant force domestically and in Europe.

Derry may have home advantage for the second leg and memories of overcoming Swedish giants Gothenburg and those memorable 2023 Uefa Conference League qualifier wins against Torshavn and KuPs fresh in their minds but they are underdogs against a CSKA team with plenty of quality in their ranks,

"We are where we are," said Lynch. "The two teams and clubs – all you have to do is look at the new stadium they've built. The difference in the club in terms of size and stature and the wage bill and the monetary value that goes with it but when you step onto that pitch it's 11 v. 11. I keep trying to tell the players that, no disrespect to CSKA but it's not Barcelona.

"We've seen for the last 30 minutes of the game on Thursday night that we can play at this level and compete at this level. It's really important we don't show any disrespect but it's also important we try to impose our game.

"There's definitely things we felt we could have and should have done better. You also have to remember a lot of our players it was their first time playing in Europe. Now the monkey is off our back, I don't think there's any huge pressure on our shoulders. I think we can go and enjoy the game in front of our own fans. As long as we give 100 percent, I think we will be okay.

"There's definitely areas we feel we can exploit and we will cause them problems no doubt. It's in our hands as far as I'm concerned. That last goal gave us a bit of a platform. Something to hang onto and get after. It's just managing the game."

The visitors are expected to bring around 400 supporters to Brandywell but Lynch is hoping Derry fans can create an intimidating environment. He knows his players must resist the urge to go 'gung-ho' from the first whistle, as they don't want to lose the tie in the early stages.

"The fans will be there and it will be an electric atmosphere. You will want to go gung-ho and get after them. We have to manage that situation. You can't win the game in the first 10 minutes but you can lose it. It's playing with our heads as well as our hearts.

"The intimidation factor that their fans brought and how noisy they were. I thought our boys managed that brillianty. It's hugely iportant our fans recipriocate. It's a smaller ground, tighter ground, in your face and I think the more intimidating we can make that the better it will be for us."

CSKA were left frustrated as they were forced to travel without Belarusian internationals Fyodor Lapoukhov and Maks Ebong, both key players for boss Hristo Yanev due to visa issues.

Derry will welcome back Adam O'Reilly from suspension and Brandon Fleming while most City fans will get their first look at new signings Ellis Chapman, Christy Grogan and Nick Twisk. Gavin Whyte has also returned to training but is unlikely to be involved while Carl Winchester is also set to miss out again through injury.

"James Clarke didn't train today," confirmed Lynch on Tuesday. "He was on the pitch doing recovery. He has a scan today. If he is fit, he'll definitely be in contention as will Adam and Brando. So it's good to have those type of players back in.

"Obviously a couple of new players aren't available, and we're very conscious of some of those players who have come in and their fitness levels. So there's a bit of a juggling act which is a bit frustrating on our end because we would probably do things slightly differently if everything was equal. Unfortunately, it's not."