‘Conditions are in our favour’ - Johnson backs Easter Road crowd and pitch to be crucial factors for Hibs

Hibs host Inter Club d’Escaldes in the second leg of their Europa Conference League tie and will have to fight back from a 2-1 deficit after defeat in Andorra.

Hibernian boss Lee Johnson is backing the crowd, pitch and surface at Easter Road to play a crucial part in his side’s chances of winning Thursday night’s UEFA Europa Conference League match.

The Hibees welcome Inter Club d’Escaldes to Edinburgh and are trailing 2-1 following a first leg defeat in Andorra. However, Johnson has talked up a ‘really positive’ few days for his squad.

Speaking ahead of the match and reflecting on the week since their loss at the Estadi Comunal d’Andorra la Vellas, he said: “I’m really looking forward to it, I’m delighted with the last five or six days. We managed to secure Will Fish and sign Dylan Vente which is a brilliant signing for the club I believe. Then Martin Boyle has come through a good 45 minutes at Blackpool so it feels almost like three new signings but also quality additions to our team and our squad.

“Naturally we were all disappointed (to lose the first leg), we’ve done a lot of travelling and we reflect on the game and reflect on it honestly. This is the second half of the game, conditions are in our favour now. We’re at home with a big wide pitch, slick surface and the fans behind us. We’re minus one, we know we’ve got to go and do a bit, be vigilant and patient as well but at the same time we want to be on the front foot and play with tempo.”

Swiss side Luzern or Djurgardens of Sweden await the winner of the tie in the third qualifying round and Johnson knows they can’t afford to make the same mistakes they did in the first leg if they are going to have a chance of progressing. “It’s going to be really important, we can’t be as bad as we were in that game,” he added.

“We’ve actually been really positive over the last four or five days. A lot of factors in terms of the new signings, plus Jordan Obita back training, Hendo back, all these little things boost the lads and bolster their feeling towards the game. The bench will be strong, we have got to make sure we come out of this game winning by at least plus one in 90 minutes and then go from there and anything else is a bonus.”

With so much potentially on the line, the former Sunderland and Bristol City gaffer has stressed that one or two big performances from individuals could be the spark needed to see them through, saying: “First and foremost, the mentality has to be there, you need to start well as an individual.

“If you start well as an individual then that domino effects through the team and makes everybody else better. The sum of parts is always greater than any individual but an individual can get us going. The crowd will be super important for us, we cant let the opposition off the hook in terms of poor deliveries, throw ins, passes that we played too many of in the first leg.

“I genuinely believe we won’t. I believe we will be at it and on the front foot right from the start. They are a very good opponent and a difficult opponent, a lot better than public opinion would suggest. However, the focus is really on us and what we do and how we play and how we implement our style on the opposition.”

The match kicks off 7:15pm with the club confirming on Wednesday evening that some tickets were still available for purchase. However, any supporters who can’t make it to Easter Road can stream the match online via the BBC Iplayer with coverage due to get underway from 7pm.