Former Hearts boss sends good luck message to Hibs in Europe and has 'no issues' with domestic postponement
Falkirk head coach John McGlynn hopes Hibs can progress in their UEFA Europa Conference League tie against Legia Warsaw.
Hibs have been sent a message of good luck ahead of their UEFA Europa Conference League play-off tie against Legia Warsaw from a former manager of their fiercest rivals.
Ex Hearts gaffer John McGlynn, currently in charge of Falkirk, was due to go head-to-head with David Gray this weekend in their latest Scottish Premiership encounter. However, the match has been postponed in order for the Edinburgh club to have the best opportunity of progressing against the Polish side over the two legs of the tie.
It’s a decision that McGlynn says he has ‘no issue’ with and that he hopes the Hibees can win the tie for the good of Scottish football. He also revealed that the postponement may in fact be advantageous to his Bairns’ side given the timing of the decision.
Former Hearts boss wishes Hibs good luck in Europe
Speaking to the press this week, and addressing the postponement of Falkirk’s Scottish Premiership match against Hibs, McGlynn said: "It is an odd quirk. Normally it isn’t something you would want but actually it might work in our favour in terms of getting these guys in (signing targets) and getting them acclimatised to our squad.
"It is what it is. You have to take the positives from it. We may be able to get one or two players back from injury too. You play the cards you are dealt and actually the break may benefit us.
"We are supporting Hibs and the other Scottish teams in Europe. I had no issues with the game being called off for that reason. Good luck to them.”
Hibs v Legia Warsaw latest team news
Hibs will head into their UEFA Conference League play-off with virtually a full squad available to David Gray, who provided a positive injury bulletin ahead of tomorrow night’s Easter Road showdown with Legia Warsaw. And the head coach has credited the SPFL for agreeing to postpone this weekend’s Scottish Premiership trip to Falkirk in order to boost the Edinburgh side’s chances of reaching European group/league phase football for the first time in club history.
Attacking midfielder Jamie McGrath hasn’t featured since the 2-2 draw at home to Kilmarnock on August 10, with the Irishman having picked up a niggling knee injury in that game. He missed the second leg of his team’s Conference League third-round triumph over Partizan – and was rested for the weekend win over Livingston in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup.
But Gray, providing an update today, revealed: “Yeah, they're all at different stages, but in terms of availability for the squad, the only one who's technically not available is Joe Newell. Rudi Molotnikov’s had more time on the grass, Jamie McGrath's trained the last two days.
“It's a big game, everybody wants to make themselves available, as you'd expect, bumps and bruises and knocks go away. I know they all feel good about themselves as well, after a really good result and performance at the weekend, and everything's geared up now.
“There's no distractions, there's no game in between, which is another real positive step. But it's certainly a very exciting time to be a Hibs player and fan and everybody connected with the club at the minute, and we need to use that to our advantage.”