Southampton manager Ronald Koeman accepts facing former club Vitesse Arnhem was the worst possible draw for the third qualifying round of the Europa League - but will have his squad ready to tackle the tie head on.
Saints were among the seeds for yesterday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
However, rather than being handed a tie against a team from one of Europe's lesser nations, Southampton will take on the Dutch outfit who finished fifth in the Eredivisie later this month.
Koeman started his coaching career with Arnhem in 2000-2001 before joining Ajax.
"We play against a good team, at least a team who likes to play football, so we will wait to see what happens," he said.