Gogic 'a big doubt' for St Mirren against Brann
Key defender Alex Gogic is "a big doubt" for St Mirren as they visit Brann in the second leg of their Europa Conference League third qualifying round tie.
The Cyprus international and midfielder Coalan Boyd-Munce will be assessed ahead of kick-off in Norway and add to the injury concern over Mark O'Hara.
The team captain is back in training after missing St Mirren's latest three games, although manager Stephen Robinson said the midfielder "may be a bit of a risk for us, but we will see".
But the Northern Irishman says "tactically, it excites me" to be playing on such a stage against seasoned European campaigners who he suggests will be feeling more pressure to win after the 1-1 draw in Paisley.
"It has to be in terms of the size of the football club and their experience and resources," he told BBC Scotland. "They should be beating St Mirren on paper, but football is not played on paper.
"It's similar to be going to Celtic Park or Ibrox. The crowd are going to be right on top of you as well, so to silence the crowd you have to slow the game down - a little bit like they did at our place."
Astana lie in wait for the winners in the play-off round after the side from Kazakhstan thumped Romanian second-tier outfit Corvinul Hunedoara 6-1 on Wednesday to secure an emphatic 8-2 win on aggregate.
Robinson is no mood, despite the "hard task", to end a European journey for "a fantastic travelling support" who have "waited a long long time for this".
"It's fantastic," he said. "This is what European nights are all about. We are looking forward to the atmosphere."
However, the St Mirren manager recognises that his side have to improve not only on their first-leg performance but on Sunday's 3-1 Scottish Premiership defeat in Aberdeen.
"They are a very good side that are very well coached," he said of Brann. "We managed to get a terrific result, which is different from playing well.
"We have to be better on the ball and take ownership of the game because, if they dominate the game for 96 minutes on the ball, they will win. We have to break up their play.
"Defensively, we are very good and we will need to be the same again. We have learned we will need to step up our levels by 100% if we are to get a result."
Eirik Horneland's side, who were runners-up in Norway last season, had a free weekend in their domestic league and currently sit third, eight points behind reigning champions Bodo/Glimt but with a game in hand.
Team news
Horneland's hosts have had a free week since visiting the SMiSA Stadium for the first leg to recover from any niggles.
Forward Lewis Jamieson is the only St Mirren player not to travel.
However, the fitness of Gogic, Boyd-Munce, who is also a major doubt, and O'Hara will all need to be assessed before kick-off.
What they said
St Mirren defender Marcus Fraser: "It's going to be fiery. It should be, because of what's at stake.
"We want it to be like that. That's how we want to play. That's how us as a team like to play - kind of on the edge and off the cuff. And, if we can do that and match them, then we'll go in there with confidence and hopefully we can get that result."
