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We were up at 3:30am for the now familiar early morning flight from East Midlands to Dublin, with Jenny flying in from Manchester, and meeting up in the airport for breakfast before catching the Flybus to Tallaght.

We were here for the last game of this incredible season, in which Rovers had created history by becoming the first Irish club to qualify for the group stages of a European competition. To have reached that milestone while successfully retaining the League of Ireland title, winning the All-Ireland Setanta Cup and clocking up ten more League points than last year in the process, has been a tremendous achievement. These part-time players reported for pre-season training on 15th January and here we are, eleven months later, in game No. 60, even though the League season finished in October.

Rovers’ supporters have become accustomed to the Club, which they own, being largely ignored within Ireland, where ‘soccer’ is the poor relation to, not only traditional Irish sports, but also the insatiable appetite Irish people have for the English Premier League, the latter albatross being all too familiar to the diminishing number of Latics supporters. The historic journey of Rovers through the Champions League qualifiers and the Group stage of the Europa League, with the associated TV coverage of 27 games, had made the club difficult to ignore at home, and brought it to the attention of an audience of millions, as far away as Australia, China, India and Canada. I only have to recollect the singing of "Shamrock Rovers, Champions" and “Shamrock Rovers will never die” reverberating around White Hart Lane (and dominating the TV sound-track) on that incredible night in September, to get the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. It was like being with buskers from outside the London Palladium earning the right to take part in the Royal Command Performance.

The real, and sometimes perceived, odds stacked against the supporters travelling thousands of miles through Europe, have meant that more than a strong stomach has been needed for this season’s roller-coaster ride. When playing Partizan Belgrade, the unwillingness of the Serbian authorities to allow any behaviour of the locals to jeopardise the country’s application for entry into the European Union, had shown itself in extreme security protection of the Rovers’ supporters.  They were assigned minders when drinking in bars and, inside the stadium, after confiscating their cigarette-lighters, they were assigned stewards not only to light their cigarettes, but also to accompany anyone them to the toilet.

The trip to Greece to play PAOK had coincided with a 48 hour general strike against the Government’s austerity measures, with no public transport available and the smell of uncollected rubbish tarnishing the streets. The change of heart by the Greek air traffic controllers at short-notice to reduce the length of their strike to 12 hours had resulted in withdrawn air flights being reinstated, but only after some of the confused Hooperati had made alternative travel arrangements at considerable additional expense. Striking passport controllers at the border resulted in some of the travelling supporters failing to get to Thessaloniki in time for the match. Not even a wooden horse would have succeeded, and although instinct may have made them wary of Greeks bearing gifts, extensive assistance provided by a PAOK supporter, through the SRFC Ultras’ Internet message board, had proved to be indispensable. It was testament to his efforts that the trip had been so enjoyable for the couple of hundred travellers, and their gratitude had been posted in a format which is today’s equivalent of a letter to the Thessalonians.  There was a certain irony for the PAOK supporters travelling to London recently for their match against Spurs, only to find the city in the grip of striking public service workers.

To be a supporter of Rovers in Europe is akin to taking on an ambassadorial role, while carrying out voluntary missionary work, in the extremes of intense heat in Belgrade and sub-zero temperature in the Republic of Tatarstan. Fans of other clubs eager to find out more about SRFC, are amazed to learn that the squad was assembled for only €600,000 and the fan-owned Club’s budget is in the region of €2.5 million, when most clubs at this level would be paying similar amounts to a single player. By comparison the annual budget of Spurs is €150m, Rubin Kazan’s is €75m and even that of the Greek champions PAOK is €17m (the amount paid by Rubin Kazan for one player). One of the Hooperati said what Rovers have achieved in Europe this season is like a bloke on a motorbike getting to race in F1.

Although the team had not had success on the pitch in this European Group, the club’s supporters had gained many friends, not least among the bar-owning fraternity.

This was to be Rovers’ twelfth game in European competition this season. Instead of singing “Oh when the Blues…”, when supporting Latics, today we were expecting to hear “Oh when the Spurs go marching in”. Some of the 400 Spurs’ fans, each with at least 877 loyalty points, marched in on our plane and on Jenny’s, while others marched in by boat via Holyhead.

This was to be the first competitive match against an English club in Ireland for 27 years. In the weeks building up to this match, the Spurs fans had been busy researching about Rovers. In these days of ‘fake sheiks’ and football money pouring in from Abu Dhabi,

could the Tallaght Pyramid have confused Chas and Dave about the ownership of Rovers?

Having heard of Hollywood legend Maureen O’Hara being a Rovers fan, whose father was once part-owner of Shamrock Rovers,

Spurs fans had come up with a star of their own. Perhaps not what one would think of as a model Spurs fan, with two divorces by the age of 26, a teenage mother for a sister, a soccer mum for a parent and ancestors from Tottenham, she was none other than Britney Spears.

During the morning, we paid a visit to the Stadium Trophy Room and Megastore, which had a steady stream of customers and telephone calls seeking tickets for this sold-out match. We got a friendly wave from the Chairman, who was busy in the hands-on preparations needed to meet UEFA’s many requirements.

After lunch in the Maldron Hotel, amongst people wearing UEFA accreditation IDs, we spent the afternoon in the Hotel’s bar with friends old and new, all of whom were pleased that Latics were giving us something to shout about at last. There was much interest in the possibility of some coming over to England to watch our lads later in the season, with the Paddy’s Day match against Rochdale high on the agenda.

The Hotel management were so keen to provide enough elbow room in the bar for the drinkers, that the Christmas trees were wheeled away temporarily.

Other friends were met inside the stadium as we took up our places in the East Stand for the 6:00pm kick-off determined by television. Probably to the cost of the League of Ireland, Spurs also have official supporters clubs located in Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Sligo and Waterford. Their fans without enough loyalty points for a ticket in the away section, found themselves seated amongst the Hooperati in the temporary South Stand, which caught the icy blast off the mountains.

The task facing Spurs tonight was to hope that Rubin Kazan would lose to PAOK Salonika, and at the same time overturn the five-goal deficit in goal difference between them. This was not the line-up that would play in the Premier League, but it contained seven internationals, four of whom played in the last World Cup. They were to face Rovers’ out-of-season part-time players, who were no longer match-fit.

The stadium’s new moving electronic advertising along the length of the pitch was another indication that Rovers are now competing with Europe’s elite.

In the first twenty minutes, there was nothing much between the teams, but Tottenham proved to be razor-sharp in the final third. However, they did enjoy some luck at the other end of the pitch, as both Livermore and Cudicini escaped red cards for bringing down players when they were through on goal, even with six match officials looking on.

The Rovers 0 Spurs 4 score-line, with goals from Pienaar (deflected off a Hoop) and Townsend, together with last minute goals by Defoe in the first half and Kane in the second half, exaggerated the obvious miss-match in playing ability. Rovers had some very good phases of play, attacking with neat moves, as they tried to give departing manager Michael O’Neill a good send-off. If only the match officials’ decisions had resulted in Spurs being reduced to nine players, who knows what the result would have been?

The result proved to be academic for Spurs, because the draw in Greece between the other two clubs in the Group, meant that their fate was out of their own hands.

Although there were no points to show for all Rovers’ efforts put into the Europa League Group Stage, the banking of more than over €1m was the icing on the cake.

Who would have thought that, when playing F.C. Flora Tallinn in Tallaght back in June, the European adventure would be continuing six months later? The growing experience gained by the players has shown itself in very competent performances, in which they have looked to be at home playing at that level. The lesson etched firmly on the memory, just as it was when Latics were in the Premier League, is that when you make a mistake at this level, you get punished.

The early kick-off meant that we were back in the Maldron Hotel by 8:00pm, with a long session ahead. The disco was underway and a good time was had by all, including John Sheridan’s cousin, who led the dancing.

With the disco finished, we made our own entertainment with a singsong led by Big Dec. Eventually the bar would serve us no more and we got to bed at 1:30am, after another 22 hour day.

A fine dusting of snow greeted us when we awoke but, thankfully, it did not disrupt our journey home, and the forecasted weather was not expected to stop us getting to Charlton the next day.

So, as we reach the pantomime season, Rovers, in the guise of ‘Prince Charming’, have made a dignified exit from the Europa stage, through the ‘Ireland’s Got Talent’ door.

At the same time Spurs, in the guise of ‘Goals Aloud’, have exited through the revolving door marked ‘Failed to live up to expectation and budget yet again’,

and are to be replaced by Manchester’s ‘Ugly Sisters’.

One Hoop came up with a brilliant description of Rovers’ competitiveness in the elite football community, in the following terms: “We're now dancing with the prettiest girls in Europe, while our local rivals still haven't got past the bouncers”.

This has been a unique journey, and the Hooperati have been determined to absorb every second. As co-opted members, this season’s amazing experiences, on and off the field, have left us with huge grins on our faces, and glowing with great pride and satisfaction. We can’t wait to be on the guest list for dancing with more of the prettiest European girls next season, as we keep on Hooping.

On the way to the airport we passed the depot of Woodies DIY, Rovers’ long-time sponsors, who have stuck with the club through its darkest hours. Later on the journey, the Flybus was ‘escorted’ by a Seat car sporting Rovers’ colours as the new big-time sponsor, another pointer to the progress the club has made.

Meanwhile, as Rovers’ memorable season ends, Latics’ season is just starting to look as though it could be memorable. We’ve got a trip to Anfield to look forward to, and I wonder if King Kenny is still blushing from his Ryanair flight, on which the Hooperati were chanting to him “Champions League, you’re havin’ a laugh”.

Touching wood, and keeping fingers and toes crossed, there may also be at least one possible trip to Wembley to look forward to in 2012, before Europe beckons with Rovers once more.

Isn’t following small club football great?