Hibs new boy setting sights high as Scottish Cup winner puts silverware AND Euro progress on to-do list

New Hibs signing Jamie McGrath has targeted “cup glory” AND European group stage football as he looks to make the most of his long-awaited Easter Road move. And the former Aberdeen player says his new club proved their status as the third best team in Scotland via the league table last season.

McGrath, who signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibs in January, celebrated with his team-mates as Aberdeen defeated Celtic in last month’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden – despite that shock upset making his new team’s chances of European progress much harder. Victory at Hampden saw the Dons claim a place in the Europa League third qualifying round, with guaranteed Conference League football the consolation for failure at that stage.

Although David Gray’s men have to navigate three rounds of qualifying just to reach the league phases of UEFA competition, Irish attacking midfielder McGrath – who played with Aberdeen in the group stages of the Conference League in season 2023-24 – is confident that they’ve got the quality to progress. Even if he admits that being drawing against Danish side Midtjylland represents a formidable obstacle.

Hibs ‘deserved’ to finish third ahead of Aberdeen - McGrath

And he’s eager to take silverware back to Easter Road, the 28-year-old telling Hibs TV: “I had a taste of cup glory last year and it was absolutely unbelievable, so why not? Why can't we do it this year?

“And yeah, we’ve got big games coming up in Europe - and you want to try and get at least guaranteed group stages so we can see how far we can go on that.

“It's a tough draw but playing in Europe in the past, when it comes to it, anybody can beat anybody, so we'll be going in with full confidence. Off the back of last season everybody's in good spirits so the boys probably didn't want the season to end last year.

“Even early on in the season I thought the league table wasn't fair to where the lads should have been. I think they showed that throughout the course of the season.

“They finished third and they probably fully deserved to be there. And this is where you want to be, I think, at the minute.

“Looking in at all the scenes after games and Easter Road and stuff, it looked unbelievable. I’m really glad to be a part of that. Hopefully I can settle here and spend the next four years - and hopefully longer.”

McGrath, who underwent shoulder surgery midway through last season, admitted he’d taken his time over committing to a four-year contract with Hibs, saying: “Obviously, it's a very tricky decision, a big point in my career and, yeah, I think the main thing was I was off the back of that injury, and I was looking for more stability. When I spoke with the gaffer and Malky (Mackay, Hibs sporting director), I'm obviously familiar with the club from being here and playing in Scotland for so many years, it was kind of a combination of everything.

Irish midfielder vastly experienced in Scottish game

“I felt the direction the club's going at the minute is on a really upward trajectory and, yeah, seeing how the boys finished off the season, the place looked to be a great place to be. Now I'm just excited to get going here and getting comfortable in the city and finding my feet.

“I’ve kind of been linked a few times in the past and, yeah, I'm really happy to be here now and. We've some big European games to look forward to, so hopefully come through pre-season and everybody can get through it unscathed.”

Equally comfortable on the wing or playing as an attacking midfielder, McGrath is likely to compete for game time in the No. 10 position with Hibs, the former St Mirren and Wigan player admitting: “Honestly, I'm just happy to play wherever, be in the middle, off the left, off the right. I've kind of played everywhere so I don't really know how to answer that question.

“If I probably have to pick one, I'd probably be in the middle. But I'm equally happy playing everywhere as long as I can just give my best and try to get the wins.”

Harking back to the famous six-goal thriller between Aberdeen and Hibs at Easter Road in November, identified by everyone as a major turning point for first-year head coach Gray and his team, McGray smiled as he said: “It's a great place to play. The last time I played there was that mad 3-3 with us just before Christmas!

“Since then the place has just looked electric. So, yeah, really looking forward to going out and hopefully giving the fans something to cheer about.”

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