'Not experienced that' - David Gray's Belgrade message as Hibs head coach steps into the unknown

The Hibees head to the Serbian capital looking to grab a result in the first leg of their Conference League third qualifying round tie this evening in front of a Partizan crowd that is known for making life difficult for the opposition.

Speaking ahead of the match, Gray said: “It's something the players will need to make sure they're ready for. A real hostile environment, very intense when you see their games, their support and everything that goes with that.

“So I think it's a different challenge and one the players should relish and look forward to. A lot of them won't have experienced that before.

“Myself, I've not experienced that as a coach, certainly. So I think that's something different. We need to prepare the players for it and make sure they are ready for it.

“But it's also a really good opportunity to go over there again and test yourself against a top-level opposition. And the level of opposition and the level of performance required is going to have to be similar to the Midtjylland games.”

Despite their 2-1 aggregate loss to the Danes with the impressive European pedigree, the fact that Midtjylland needed a spectacular goal in the dying embers of injury time of extra-time at Easter Road to get the job done is testament to the work done by Gray. He feels his team are ready for this challenge.

Add in the fact that Hibs kicked off their Premiership campaign on Sunday with a decent 2-1 victory against Dundee at Dens Park and it’s easy to see why Gray is approaching the fixture in confident mood.

“You need to take loads of confidence from that,” he insisted. “I think I said that you always need to believe you can go and get a result.

“We're a very good side. And we've demonstrated that already. And then obviously going into this game off the back of a real positive first league win of the season away from home, which is never an easy place to go, shows we're in a real good place at the moment.

“I think the history with Partizan Belgrade and everything that comes with that, going over there will be a real difficult test. We know that.

“Whether we're favourites or underdogs, I'm not really too fussed to be honest. It's about concentrating on what we can do and making sure the players are ready for it, ready for the challenge, the game plan is in place.

"But we go into every single game trying to win the game. We're not going over there to not try to do that. It doesn't matter who we're playing. That is the mindset. I don't think you can go into a game not trying to win it. So that doesn't change.

"It's just a different environment that we're going into. You obviously have to factor in the quick turnaround, you factor in the travel, everything else. But this is why you do it.

“This is what the players are all prepared for. And you should really look forward to the opportunity and the challenge.”

Nicky Cadden is unlikely to recover from a hamstring strain in time to take part against Partizan, while club captain Joe Newell and fellow long-term injury victim Rudi Molotnikov are both still out – but making steady progress.