Hibs flying Saltire in Europe - driven by pride, fan faith and defending Scottish football's reputation
Record home attendance could make this a night to remember
The motives and motivations driving members of this Hibs squad in pursuit of history are as disparate and varied as their individual back stories. Each will have his own reason for craving glory at the expense of FC Midtjylland at Easter Road tomorrow night.
As a group, though, they are bound together by some common threads. They’re doing this for the fans who showed such faith during the dark times. Putting in efforts worthy of their own high standards. But also flying the Saltire for a Scottish footballing product too often and too easily denigrated by residents of more lucrative markets.
Hibs boss David Gray believes that, putting rivalries to one side, everyone with a vested interest in the Scottish Premiership as a brand will be cheering Hibs on. Backing them not just because progress would be good for the all-important UEFA coefficient.
"Yeah, I think so,” said Gray, the former club captain adding: “It's certainly the way I've always been. Regardless of which Scottish clubs are playing in Europe, you want them to do well. I think that's an absolute given.
"I think Scottish football at times can get a bit, I don't know, maybe overlooked at times, for the level. I actually think the level's improving all the time.
"When you look at the actual league, how well teams are starting to do in Europe – Rangers and Celtic, for example, Rangers going right to the latter stages of the competitions for a few years now; Celtic did well last year. Then Hearts got into the group stages of the Conference League last year.
"The more Scottish clubs you can get going further the better. It can only be good for the country and the league. And good exposure for the young players as well, to get the opportunity to go and do that.
"I say that to the players and remind the players quite a lot, that you can have a fantastic career, and unless you're at one of the big clubs in the top leagues, you might never get the opportunity to play in Europe. But it's a genuine opportunity at a club like Hibs to play in Europe. So these are nights and memories that will live with you forever."
Manager cites ‘personal pride’ as key element
With a record home crowd expected, thanks to Hibs fans snapping up tickets left available by Midtjylland barely bringing an away support worthy of the name, Gray was asked whether the focus should be on not letting those punters down.
He declared: "Not so much. I think it's more not letting yourself down. You need to take your own personal pride into it
"You might never get the opportunity to do these things again. As for what a sell-out crowd at Easter Road means, I spoke to a lot of people.
"I actually mentioned it pre-match last week, I was speaking to wee Gav (Gillies, the kit man) who's been here forever, talking about the best nights he's ever been at as a Hibs supporter or being involved in, and they were always European nights, under the lights at Easter Road. So people are starting to talk about that again, which is great.
"So from our point of view, we need to make sure the players are ready, the game plan's in place, we know where we still need to improve from the first leg. We're under no illusions that the task is going to be huge, we know that. But go and enjoy it as well, you need to embrace it.
"You need to try to start the game as well as you can. That's clearly an area in which we did well in the first leg. We need to try and build on that momentum.
"But these are games that, if you don't can't get up for these, can't look forward to these, I'd be certainly questioning the players. But I'm definitely not feeling that. I'm feeling it in training every day, and everybody's looking forward to it.”
Proud home record at Easter Road
Asked if this could be a game that fans will look back on for years to come, Gray said: "Yeah, it certainly could be. Wee Gav just tells you he lies every now and again anyway, so how much you actually believe of what he tells you, it's not always the truth!
"But the level of opponent, the rewards for getting through, and then just keeping building that momentum that's been building for a while now at the football club, the feel-good factor, the togetherness in the group, and then the part that the fans play ... Since I've been at the football club, this is as strong a connection as I've seen. We want to keep that going as much as we possibly can, and the fans play such a big part in it.
"All in all, we're in a really good place, but it's all about constantly trying to improve. That's the big thing for us. Can we keep getting better? Can we keep improving as a group? And I believe we will.”
Hibs haven’t lost a competitive game at Easter Road since November 9 last year, with both Rangers and Celtic - among others - failing to win in Leith during that period. A fact not to be overlooked in assessing their chances tomorrow.
“I think any team that's going to be successful rely on a really strong home form,” said Gray. “It’s great of late, and you want to keep that going as much as you possibly can.
"You just touched on some of the big teams we've managed to beat at Easter Road, and this would certainly be right at the very top of that list if we were able to go and do that, and progress in the tie. You want your home form to be as good as it can be and make it a difficult place to come with the atmosphere, and the fans will certainly do that on Thursday night, which will be great.
"They will be right behind the players right from the first second of the game, so I'm really looking forward to it myself. It's probably one of the games where I'll sit and go, 'Wish I was playing tonight' and then after five minutes it's, 'Thank God I'm not playing tonight' when you see the speed some people are running!
"There's a real feel-good factor around the place at the minute. And it's a reward for how well we've done."