Steven Whittaker is already looking forward to returning to the European stage next month when Hibs meet NSÍ Runavík in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.
His last European outing for Hibs took place 12 years ago against Odense in the Intertoto Cup however he enjoyed more success after moving to Ibrox, helping Rangers reach the 2008 UEFA Cup Final in Manchester.
The Hibs’ players returned to pre-season training on Monday and the versatile defender believes that the experience amongst the current squad will stand them in good stead as they aim to reach the group stages of the competition for the first time.
Whittaker told Hibernian Media: “It’ll be good to get back into European football. Last season was a great one for the club and the boys were all looking forward to finding out who we were playing.
“We had a few games in Europe when I was younger – obviously the Dnipro games and then a few matches in the Intertoto Cup.
“It was a young side back then and so there was a lot to learn from some of those trips – going to the likes of Latvia and Lithuania and playing against teams we didn’t know much about.
“The squad we have now is a lot more experienced – the likes of the gaffer (Neil Lennon) and Efe (Ambrose) obviously have plenty from their Celtic days and Paul (Hanlon) and Lewis (Stevenson) have been there a few times with Hibs now.
“The Brondby tie from a couple of years ago is probably still fresh in the mind of most players and fans as well, so hopefully that will help.
“I’ve got some fantastic memories of playing in Europe – obviously 2008 was a highlight and my goal (in the quarter finals against Sporting Lisbon) in particular was something special.
“We’d love to go on a run this year and give the fans a few trips away, but to do that we need to get through the first round.
“I don’t know much about the team we’re playing at the moment but I’m sure we’ll be able to do some analysis in the build up to the game.
“For now we’re all just enjoying being back in at training and working hard to get the fitness levels back.
“It’s been a tough few days of testing and work, but it just needs to be done at this stage to get you ready for the season ahead.
“There’ll be a few friendly matches before the European games so we can look ahead to those first and get ourselves ready for when the first leg comes around.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
