Hibs are in pole position to finish third in the table and there has never been a better time to achieve this.
Should Rangers or Celtic win the Scottish Cup, finishing third in the Premiership would result in a place in the play-off round of Europa League qualifiers.
As things stand they would potentially face Malmo who demolished Pat Fenlon’s side 9-0 or Fenerbache, Ferencvaros or Genk.
Victory in that two-legged tie however would guarantee a place in the Europa League group stages and potentially generate significant income.
In the 2020-21 season, winning a group match was rewarded with just under £500,000 in prize money whilst a draw netted over £160,000. This is on top of any gate receipts which could be substantial against such giants of the game such as Liverpool, Juventus, Lazio, AS Monaco, PSV Eindhoven or Real Sociedad.
Even defeat at the play-off stage however would see Hibs drop into the group stage of the inaugural Europa Conference League which is Uefa’s new third-tier tournament, sitting beneath the Champions and Europa Leagues, and played on a Thursday.
In the Conference League, Hibs could face teams of the quality of Napoli which would bring back memories of that wonderful night in 1967 when the Italian giants were trounced 5-0 at Easter Road.
Other potential opponents, as things stand include Everton, Sparta Prague, Feyenoord or Basel but in any case they would be guaranteed at least six matches.
Hibs could also qualify for the play-off spot by winning the Scottish Cup, as could any other side in Scotland.
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.
