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Lille coach Rene Girard compared his club's demanding Europa League group to that of French rivals Monaco in the Champions League after Friday's draw. Girard, 60, saw his team pitted against Everton, Wolfsburg and Kuban Krasnodar in a testing Group H in European club football's second tier competition. The 2011-12 Ligue 1 title-winning boss told media had his squad successfully come through their playoff with Porto, they may have had an easier route plotted for them in the Champions League. "Lucky we didn't do the Champions League!" Girard, whose team start their campaign at home to Krasnodar, said, his statement laced with irony. "Wolfsburg are one of the very best German teams, same goes for Everton in the Premier League, they have just picked up Samuel Eto'o. You could say our group is a tough as Monaco's is in the Champions League. That gives you an idea of the scale of the task. "We're going to have to roll up our sleeves. Playing in Germany and England is two really good challenges for us. The positive thing is that those away trips will not be too long." The same cannot be said of Ligue 1 counterparts Saint-Etienne, who face lengthy journeys to take on Ukrainian outfit Dnipro and Qarabag of Azerbaijan in Group F. "We're going to travel a lot. We have two long destinations. That's the regret regarding this draw. We're going to have to organise ourselves well, but also recover well. That's also what the Europa League is about," said coach Christophe Galtier, 48, who was happier about also having to go to the San Siro to face Inter Milan. "Inter Milan is a great name. It's also a funny coincidence as it was was one of the stadiums I showed my players to show them what the Europa League is. I wanted a big game, and that will be ours for the group stage. On the pitch, we have to play without any inferiority complex." There is also prestigious Italian opposition for Coupe de France holders Guingamp, who will welcome Fiorentina to Brittany as well as Greek side PAOK and Dinamo Minsk of Belarus. "For me, there will be three great games at the Roudourou, and not only one or two," Guingamp coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, 42, said on the club's official website. "Even if the standard is high, and that the step up is large, we'll give everything to cause the two group favourites problems."
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