Hibs transfer update provided on key star as he faces Europa League race against time for Midtjylland clash

Hibs head coach David Gray says Lewis Miller is in a fitness race ahead of Europa League second round qualifiers with FC Midtjylland - as he addressed his transfer situation.

The club legend watched on as his side played out a friendly with Bolton Wanderers on Saturday for Darren McGregor’s testimonial. A 2-0 defeat was inflicted on the home side but all attentions now turn to Thursday’s first leg in Denmark, where Hibs will look for a positive result to take back to Easter Road.

Saturday’s clash handed extended minutes to several first team stars and also provided a chance for record breaking signing Thibault Klidje to get involved. Speaking after the game, Gray provided an update on Lewis Miller, the Australian defender who missed the game after injury in a recent friendly. There has also been reported interest in his services and Gray says the lure of Europe is all that’s on his mind currently.

What David Gray said after Hibs vs Bolton Wanderers

Gray said: “He obviously picked up a knock against Essen. We thought it was just a contact and a little bit of that. Expecting it just to be a couple of days. Unfortunately it's proving to be a little bit more than that. Nothing too significant, we hope. He's actually moving and feeling a lot better. It's improving all the time but rather than being a couple of days it's looking like maybe a couple of weeks.

“But Lewis being Lewis I know what he's like. He's always keen to try and get back as quick as he can. He's usually one that you'd always have to manage to make sure you're not taking unnecessary risks with him as well. Plus they love the lure of European football that he's desperate to get involved in, clearly. We obviously won't be taking any risks with that. In terms of his own personal transfer situation I know there's been a lot of talk around it just now but his focus is because he has picked up that knock and injury he's desperate to try and get back and get back on the team.”

Hibs vs Bolton Wanderers friendly verdict

Gray also says it will take time for new striker Klidje to get fully up to speed. He said: “Fitness-wise he's had his own pre-season over in Switzerland which has been positive for him. He's only really trained with us on Friday which is why it was obviously limited minutes today and we don't want to take unnecessary risk. We need to get eyes on him really and see exactly what that looks like.

“He's obviously not done a full pre-season with us but as you've seen, he's sharp, he's fit, he's available but we don't want to be pushing too quickly too soon with the risk of what that actually looks like. So he's only had one training session with us which was yesterday and he'll benefit from a full week leading into Thursday.”

Gray added on the friendly clash ahead of a trip abroad: “I think immediately when you look at the scoreline, it's clearly not ideal from that point of view. What I thought as a whole reflection is the whole position we've faced during pre-season, all the games are all leading up towards peaking on Thursday. I am happy with how preparations have went, result and performance aside on Saturday. I think the players know that as well, we've been speaking about that. I do think we're a little bit in between in terms of how we've set up against a variety of opposition that I think has been beneficial for what we could potentially face in Europe.

“Different styles, different levels of opposition, if you think back to Ajax and Bournemouth for example, and different ways of playing against these types of opposition. I thought we were a little bit in between, so that was probably a real good test in terms of playing against a team that's hungry, aggressive, physical, which we face domestically very often. So that was something that I felt we were a wee bit in between from being at our fluent best and positionally and the way we wanted to press maybe wasn't quite as aggressive as we'd like to be in certain things.

“And then within that there was obviously loads of individual errors and things that come that you'd much rather see in a friendly game today than on Thursday. On the whole, how pre-season went, where the level of the players are at, I'm happy. We know we need to be miles better than we were today, so I'm delighted that's happened today rather than Thursday. But Thursday is a completely different occasion, it's a brilliant thing to look forward to and it's the rewards for last season. So I'm sure come Monday all the players will be coming in desperate to put today's result and performance behind them and trying to get into that team for Thursday because right now it's about making sure you're in that starting XI if you can be.

“I spoke a lot about the group and the togetherness and the feel-good factor and what comes from winning games which is clearly momentum but also the togetherness within it. I think I felt that coming back in pre-season. The rewards for last season is European campaign. So everyone has been working hard and everything has been geared towards Thursday night which is one that now there's no distractions between now and then. There's no games in between. It's full focus on Midtjylland and the challenge that's going to bring. I feel we know we're in a good place and we know where we still need to improve clearly and I know the players will respond from what happened and we'll make sure we're ready to go on Monday.”