Lillestrom's players will be getting their first taste of English football this evening. But, for the Norwegian club's chief executive, today's Intertoto Cup game will evoke memories of his time in the North-East. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson spoke to Jan-Aage Fjortoft to find out why Lillestrom are revelling in their reputation as the Norwegian Middlesbrough

LAST season, supporters of Newcastle United looked on enviously as North-East rivals Middlesbrough made it all the way to the UEFA Cup final.

Robbed of European football following an Intertoto Cup defeat to Deportivo La Coruna, the Magpies were cast as Dickensian children pressing their faces against the windows of a sweet shop. The riches were on display but they remained tantalisingly out of reach.

Two months on from Middlesbrough's adventure in Eindhoven, though, Newcastle have an opportunity to make amends.

Qualify from this month's Intertoto Cup double-header, win a second-round qualifying game in August and Glenn Roeder's side will be back in the UEFA Cup while Boro remain restricted to domestic affairs.

It all sounds simple enough, until you consider the identity of Newcastle's Intertoto Cup opponents.

When Jan-Aage Fjortoft became chief executive of Norwegian club Lillestrom in 2004, he immediately began to model them on one of his former employers.

Two years on his plan is ready to come to fruition. In May, Steve McClaren took "a small town in Europe" to the UEFA Cup final. Today, Fjortoft is hoping to lead "a small suburb in Oslo" to the greatest result in their history.

After a season of watching Middlesbrough assume a position they consider to be their own, the Magpies are in danger of seeing their European dreams dashed by a club that have been designed to be a clone of the Teessiders.

"Lillestrom is a small club in Norway so, from a European point of view, it's never going to be in the top tier of teams," said Fjortoft, who scored 12 goals in 50 appearances for Middlesbrough after joining from Swindon in March 1995.

"When I took over a couple of years ago, I looked for a club that I could use as a template for development. That club was Middlesbrough.

"For me, the Middlesbrough story is one of the best in football. Middlesbrough is a small club, from a small town, but they have won trophies and been in the UEFA Cup final.

"If Lillestrom could even achieve a percentage of that I would be very, very happy."

Given that no Norwegian club has ever appeared in a major European final, the chances of Lillestrom emulating Middlesbrough's epic journey to Eindhoven appear extremely remote.

But, using Boro's development model as a blueprint, Fjortoft has already established the Oslo-based outfit as one of Norway's most successful and stable clubs.

A £2m deficit has become a small but significant profit, a reputation as a selling club has been partially erased by the club-record purchase of Canadian Olivier Occean for more than £500,000 and, on the field, performances have picked up sufficiently for Lillestrom to reach last season's Norwegian Cup final.

Fjortoft attributes much of the success to the assistance he has received since he swapped his football boots for a pair of office brogues.

Some of his other ex-employers, like Sheffield United and Swindon, have been quick to lend a hand. But none have proved as influential as Middlesbrough.

"Ever since I left the club almost a decade ago, Middlesbrough have always been very, very good to me," said Fjortoft. "When I took over at Lillestrom, I contacted Middlesbrough and asked if I could come over for a bit of advice.

"Since then, I have been back five or six times. I have met (chairman) Steve Gibson and talked about how he likes to run a football club, and met (commercial manager) Graham Fordy to talk about how we can maximise the potential of Lillestrom.

"I have also been to some games just to remind myself of everything that is great about English football.

"I was at the second leg of the (UEFA Cup) semi-final earlier this year and I can honestly say that it was the best football match I have ever been to.

"It had absolutely everything and I remember closing my eyes and imagining a similar thing happening to Lillestrom. Some people will say it's impossible, but they were probably saying the same thing about Middlesbrough ten or 20 years ago."

Indeed they were. When Fjortoft arrived on Teesside in early 1995, Boro were playing First Division football in a decrepit Ayresome Park. By the time he left almost two years later, the club had decamped to the Riverside and were established in the Premiership.

Much has happened since then, of course, but Boro fans continue to retain a soft spot for Fjortoft, a striker who was shuffled aside to accommodate the arrival of Fabrizio Ravanelli.

He scored in three of the final four games of the 1994-95 season to secure the First Division title, and played alongside Juninho as Boro finished 12th a year later.

To many, he was the club's first big-money signing and provided the catalyst for the spending spree that saw a succession of established internationals arrive at the Riverside.

"When I arrived at Middlesbrough, there was great expectation but I don't think anybody really knew how far forward the club could go," said Fjortoft.

"In my first season, we won promotion to the Premiership and everybody's hopes got even higher. I remember driving to training every day and seeing the new stadium being built at the Riverside. It was an incredibly exciting time because you really felt a part of something that was just about to explode. It's strange looking back to see just how much it has exploded.

"I guess my transfer fee is proof of just how far Middlesbrough have come. I cost £1.3m and, at the time, I was the club's record signing. Now, Middlesbrough would probably laugh at players costing that price."

Lillestrom, on the other hand, remain footballing paupers, but with Newcastle's multi-millionaires preparing for their first game of the season, the Norwegian club's players are confident of producing a shock.

Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Odd Grenland left them two points adrift of Norwegian league leaders Brann Bergen and suggested they will lack neither fitness nor form as they attempt to keep their European hopes alive ahead for next weekend's return leg in Oslo.

"Is this a good time to play them? Well let's put it this way, I certainly don't think there's any chance of Lillestrom under-estimating Newcastle," joked Fjortoft, who scored at St James' Park for Barnsley in 1998 and who will join his players in their pre-match training session at the ground this afternoon.

"But, on the other hand, Newcastle have also paid us a lot of respect. They've had scouts at our games. It would have been easy for Glenn Roeder to have taken this for granted - he hasn't done that. which makes the chance of a surprise a little less. But we know this is the first game of Newcastle's season and its never easy to be at your best straight away."