KELVIN Davis insists Saints must take advantage of their Europa League opportunity – and believes it could be their most memorable season yet if they do.

The club captain has seen many things in his nine years at St Mary’s – from relegation and administration, to promotions and a Wembley win.

But tomorrow night will be a new experience for the longest-serving member of the team, as Saints play their first European match since 2003 and only their third since 1984.

Exciting prospect It is an exciting prospect, and the two-legged tie with Vitesse has already captured the imagination of supporters and people at the club.

Yet Davis knows that alone is not enough.

“It’s a special time, but it’s what we do with that opportunity now, and that’s what we’re all looking at,” he said.

The keeper added: “We’ve put ourselves in a fantastic position.

“We finished last season on a high.

“We’ve got the qualifying round of the Europa League and after that we could then move on and have a very memorable season, if not the most memorable, so everyone’s excited.”

For Davis, who has been through so much at the club and has come to have such a deep affection for it, reaching Europe is a source of great pride.

“It was massive, obviously,” said the 38-year-old, reflecting on qualifying – something secured by virtue of finishing seventh in the Premier League and seeing Arsenal thrash Aston Villa in the FA Cup final.

“We really wanted to do it our own way if you like.

“We felt, as crazy as it might sound, that we slightly underachieved in that position in the end, from the positions we’d held for most of the season.

“But that’s the Premier League and anyone that knows the league knows the business end of the season is the end of the season where everyone needs to turn up.

“That’s when the prizes are won.

“In terms of experience, it’s been a great experience, a season for us to know what it takes to reach that level and for me to obviously sit there and watch an Arsenal game supporting Arsenal was a strange situation.

“I was sitting in a restaurant with my brother-in-law, who’s a Spurs fan, and he wanted Arsenal to win.”