Revealed: How Hibs hope to claim extra time bonus from Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Aberdeen

Hibs boss David Gray has revealed how he used the incentive of extra time off to help get his players over the line in their race to finish third in the Scottish Premiership. But he admits that Saturday’s Scottish Cup final will have as much impact on close-season plans for a club staring at one of two possible paths into Europe.

By proving themselves to the third best team in the country through the league table, the Easter Road side wrapping up that Best of the Rest distinction with a game to spare, Hibs COULD be guaranteed European football until January as a reward for their efforts. But that prize would fall to Aberdeen if Jimmy Thelin’s underdogs pulled off a major shock by beating Brendan Rodgers’ Treble-chasing Celtic at Hampden this weekend.

The Dons would then go straight into the Europa League play-offs in the third week of August. And Hibs would be forced to kick off in the Europa League second qualifying round a whole MONTH earlier.

Gray has made provisional plans for pre-season, with the gaffer eager to get an early start on his second season in management. There will be a training camp overseas and at least a couple of games, including closed-doors fixtures designed purely to help players gain match sharpness.

But he admitted: "I think it depends really on when we come back in terms of what that first European game looks like. Because there's a difference between going into the qualifiers compared to the final play-off game.

“Our first competitive game could be in the middle of July. But if you're in the final play-off games, the first competitive game will be the opening league game of the season.

“So maybe an extra few days for the players. I used that one a few weeks ago, an extra couple of days if you go and finish third!

“So they'll all be watching the cup final as well, looking for an extra couple of days off. So it'll pretty much depend on that. But they'll have a well-earned rest coming up, which is good for them.”

Scotland hopeful Kieron Bowie one of TEN Hibs players on international duty

Not every member of the Hibs first team squad was able to dash straight to the airport for a much-needed getaway within hours of the final whistle blowing on Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Rangers, of course. The ever-popular June international window is extending seasons for players all over Planet Football.

The number of Hibs players doing national service so has just clicked over into double figures, with Kieron Bowie’s call-up by Steve Clarke giving the 22-year-old striker – a stand-out with Scott Gemmill’s Under-21s – a chance to win a first senior Scotland cap. Jordan Obita has also been called up by Uganda for the first time, while Junior Hoilett is in Canada’s provisional squad for next months’ CONCACAF Gold Cup – and there are FOUR Hibs players in the Socceroos training group looking to secure their World Cup place.

Alasan Manneh (Gambia), Rocky Bushiri (DRC) and Nathan Moriah-Welsh (Guyana) are all away with their respective nations, as well, Gray admitting: “The international boys are slightly different because there's quite a lot of them going away, to be fair. And they’re going straight away.

“So we'll have to look at them, keep an eye on what they're doing, what their loads are like, how many games they're going to play. Because I think their final game is about the 10th of June, I believe.

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“So if they're going right to the 10th of June, you still need that little bit of rest and shut down as well. Every player needs it, even just for the mental side to the game.

“And they need time to spend with their families and switch off for a bit, making sure they come back fresh. So it's about the balance of that to make sure you get the best out of everybody coming back in pre-season.”

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