When Panionios take on Newcastle in the UEFA Cup Group Stage tomorrow night, things will be a little different from the last time they found themselves up against English opposition.

When former Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan took charge of the Athenian outfit in the summer of 1998 he needed to map out a pre-season programme that would enable him to run the rule over the players at his disposal.

Match practice was important, but so was morale so Whelan made sure he lined up opponents of a broadly similar standard.

England was to be the destination for the tour, but the likes of Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sunderland were strictly off limits. Instead, Panionios found themselves in somewhat less salubrious settings.

"I think they've come on a little bit since then. But at the time you were probably talking about the equivalent of an English side from the Second or Third Division," said Whelan, who won 53 international caps during his illustrious playing days.

"I brought them over to England for pre-season while I was there and I set up games against Exeter and Barnet. They were probably a bit better than that, but it gives you an idea of the size of club we're talking about.

"At the time, the club wasn't particularly professional. It was a small club run by the population of the suburb of Athens where it was based. They elected the president and, while it was very homely, it meant there wasn't a lot of money floating around."

After lining up at Exeter, at least Panionios' players could boast that they'd turned out at St James' Park.

The UEFA Cup draw has prevented the club's current crop from turning out at Newcastle's home ground. But despite their relatively lowly status, the Greek side have mixed it with some of Europe's best.

"I took Panionios to the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup," explained Whelan, who left Athens after just one season in charge. "That was probably my greatest achievement in management.

"We got to the quarters and lost to Lazio, who went on to win it. They were managed by a certain Sven Goran Eriksson at the time, so at least I can say I've pitted my wits against him.

"They won 7-0 on aggregate and, to be honest, they were an absolute class apart from us. But I'm still very proud at how far we went and I think the club will still look back on that run as one of their biggest achievements to date."

Victory over Newcastle would push it close but, while Whelan accepts that Greek football has come on in leaps and bounds over the last six years, he does not expect former team-mate Graeme Souness to be looking for excuses tomorrow.

"Greek football has certainly changed," said Whelan. "They won the European Championships this summer, although I have to admit I was as surprised as anyone else about that.

"The Greek side really played as a team and that was probably the biggest change from when I was over there.

"The mentality was one of the things I found hardest to deal with.

"The Greek players seemed to accept defeat very easily and there was a general dropping of heads when things went wrong.

"The two Lazio games were a prime example of that, but the mentality was totally different in Portugal this summer. There was a real resolve and it'll be interesting to see whether that's transferred itself to the domestic game.

"Whether it has or not, I still expect Newcastle to win. I know Graeme well from my Liverpool days and I know he'll not be taking them lightly.

"He's done well since he moved to Newcastle this summer and I'm sure he'll be a massive success there.

"He hasn't changed much since his playing days and he was always someone who you had marked down as great management potential. I think his best days could be yet to come."