Hibs favourite reveals motivation behind Easter Road side's drive to 'earn' a place among European elite
Aberdeen Cup shock robbed Gray’s men of guaranteed UEFA spot
About four-and-a-half seconds after the final whistle sounded in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on May 24, the more experienced members of David Gray’s Hibs squad had already switched their mindset. Any fleeting disappointment they felt at missing out on ‘their’ reward for finishing third in the Scottish Premiership was quickly replaced by a determination to right this footballing wrong, if you like.
While Aberdeen can look forward to guaranteed European group stage football, a prize that was within Hibernian’s grasp until Celtic’s shock loss to the Dons at the national stadium, Gray’s men will have to fight and scrap for every inch of progress in either the Europa League or Conference League. They’ve made a fairly decent start – and hardly lack for motivation.
Hibees took Hampden shock in stride
“It's football, it happens,” is how veteran striker Martin Boyle put it, when asked if the Dons stealing their thunder had inspired Hibs to have a real thrash at qualifying for European league phase football via a more difficult route, the Socceroos star adding: “You've just got to take it on the chin.
“Well done to Aberdeen, they won the Cup. We did it ten years ago and it was brilliant. It was the best feeling ever. But like you say, we are where we are.
“We take it in our stride; we put up a good fight on Thursday. We want to be in these sorts of competitions.
“We have to earn the right. I feel like we've done that in the first leg – and hopefully we can progress.”
Champions League veterans Midtjylland heading to Edinburgh
Hibs certainly gave a decent account of themselves in Thursday night’s 1-1 draw with experienced UEFA campaigners Midtjylland, a team boasting Champions League experience and a strong Europa League pedigree. Things are nicely balanced, then, for this week’s return leg.
Boyle said: “It's going to be massive. A really good team, Champions League a couple of seasons ago or whenever it was.
“A really tough side, good individual players, but like you say, we can carry a threat as well. We can take great belief from that, if we can have the composure, get the ball under control, we can pick them off.
“t’s going to be a tough task, but the fans will be behind us like they were in the first game. It’s going to be another special night for the club.
“Personally, I felt sharp. I thought we were going to score straight from the kick-off; but we work on these things and if they work, they work.
“We were creating a lot of chances down the sides; we were getting in behind. We just needed that final execution that I'm sure we'll get better at.
“It’s new players and a new system that we're trying to bring in. We believe in what the manager's installing here and we can take great positivity from that.
‘We deserve this’ - Socceroos star Boyle
“We've been working really hard to get to this moment. I feel that we deserved it, considering what we've done last season. It's a great occasion for the fans, it's a great occasion for us, but like you say, we're not taking it for granted.
“We want to go and get group stage football. We were just chatting about it there.”
Boyle was thrilled to see Jamie McGrath mark his competitive debut with a stunning goal. Especially given the stand-in skipper’s own role as tormentor-in-chief of the new boy, whose status as an Aberdeen player last season was certainly mentioned in pre-season …
“He did take a lot of stick - from me,” said a grinning Boyle. “As soon as he was added to the group chat, he was getting a lot of stick.
“But at the end of the day we've signed a terrific player. We know exactly what he's capable of.
“His free kick on Thursday. His vision of passing is exceptional. The way he controls the ball, he'll only get better and better.
“It's a great credit to the club, getting his signature. We’ve got a lot of talent; we've got a lot of firepower coming off the bench as well.
“When you've got that jersey you need to keep it, you need to keep working hard. Exactly what the managers installed, the boys came off the bench last season and made a big part of what we achieved. We're all in it together.”
Hibs had to show a few different sides of their professionalism in the first leg in Denmark. From a flying start that rocked Midtjylland back on their heels. To some elite level, ahem, game management as the home side mounted an assault on the away goal.
Aware that the Danes weren’t overly happy with what they perceived to be time wasting by Hibs, Boyle laughed as he admitted: “Yes, we had to do that, they were getting the ball in so sharp. It was like playing Celtic away, the fastest ball boys in the world!
“But yeah, we had to be switched on. We were defensively smart; we had to get back into shape quick. When everyone did that, we were running hard for everyone else.
“You could see that togetherness like we had last season. Hopefully we can improve and keep going.”