And having been paired with Ventspils in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round, he was a very happy man, despite the usual dead-pan comments "it's going to be a tough tie". I'm sure it is, but it could have been far worse.
The Magpies will play the away leg on August 10, with the return taking place at St James' Park on August 24.
Glenn Roeder: "You get what you get when the draw is made in any cup competition, and this is no different. It's a trip into the unknown for us, but one thing for certain is that we will prepare thoroughly for these two matches.
"We will have Ventspils watched between now and playing them so nothing will be left to chance with our preparations. We obviously need to do our homework and find out about this team as quickly as we can.
"In situations like this you get to know as much as you can about the other team and then you reach a stage where you get your own house in order and worry about yourself. You do that about every game, whether it's Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or a UEFA Cup qualifier.
"I've never been to Latvia before so I'm looking forward to that."