Martin Boyle vows to progress in Europe for luckless Hibs charter fans
and live on Freeview channel 276
Some 50 supporters had their bookings cancelled on yesterday’s official charter flight to Kalamata airport after the club were forced to source a smaller aircraft at the last minute due to illness among the original crew.
And while some of those affected were frantically looking into making alternative travel arrangements, Boyle insists the players will do their utmost see off Asteras Tripolis in Thursday’s second leg to set up a likely clash with Norwegian outfit Molde in the third qualifying round.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBoyle, who played his part in the stunning second half fight-back that sees Hibs take a 3-2 lead to the Theodoros Kolokotronis stadium, said: “We need to give our all no matter the circumstances. It’s out of our hands what’s happened, but it’s certainly not nice.
“We know they were all desperate to get on the flight to support us and it’s been a massive disappointment, but now all we can do is try to make sure we get qualified for them.
“As long as we put in a good performance, we’re always confident.”
The change in aircraft has also pushed back the club’s departure from Greece to 2pm local time on Friday instead of heading for home immediately after the game.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThat means manager Neil Lennon will have even less time to prepare for Sunday’s Ladbrokes Premiership opener against Motherwell at Easter Road, but Boyle insists that will not be a problem.
He added: “Hopefully it doesn’t have a knock-on effect.
“We’ll get rested up and get the supplements into our bodies and hopefully we can be raring to go on Sunday.
“It’s likely to be just a stretch and massage anyway, so we’re ready.”