Darren McGregor believes that a big crowd inside Easter Road and the prospect of drawing a European giant in the next round of the UEFA Youth League is more than enough motivation for the Hibs youngsters on Wednesday night.
The Hibs U19s Head Coach believes his side have more than enough quality to turnaround the tie – as the youngsters trail 1-0 to Dynamo Kyiv from the first leg in Poland – but is keen for his squad to pick up more motivational tools leading into the match.
While talking to Hibs TV ahead of the game, McGregor stated his team are champing at the bit to get back out onto the Easter Road pitch in front of a big home support. Tickets are just £5 – while U13s go free – as the youngsters look to impress once more in Leith.
“[The players] are very well, they’re looking forward to it. I think it was a very tough task over in Poland but we’ve given ourselves a fighting chance and the lads know that so can’t wait for the opportunity to play Easter Road again.
“I think before we were drawn against Dynamo Kyiv we knew we would need to win the game to get through to the next round. So for me nothing’s changed, we need to win the game at Easter Road.
“Obviously there’s the slight chance of penalties if we do win it but I’m fully confident in the lads representing, as I said before, not only Hibs but Scotland as a nation. We sometimes do get a bit of a hard rap but I think we acquitted ourselves really well over there.
“I think Easter Road will be a completely different game from my perspective. The boys will be up for it, they know the task at hand and as you touched on the more fans that are there the better it is for the lads for that motivating factor.”
The next round of the UEFA Youth League would see Hibs entering a draw alongside elite continental teams – such as Real Madrid, PSG and Liverpool, to name just a few.
A cruel deflected finish has the wee Hibees narrowly trailing heading into the next leg, but McGregor has full belief in his side – who triumphed 4-0 over FC 2 Korriku in October at Easter Road in front of 1,411 fans – to return to Leith and secure progression to the knockout rounds.
“I mean the players know what’s at stake. It’s the next round which again very, very few Scottish teams have got to that point so it’s a massive carrot if you like for the lads to get after.
“Having played them once we understand that they’re a good team, we know what their strengths are but as I’ve touched on before I’ve got full belief in the lads that they’re able to go out there, execute the game plan and get through to the next round.
Of course they can [use the potential next round opponents as motivation], that’s the next step for them. Obviously we’re fully focused on Dynamo Kiev and what we have to do within that game but why not use the next round as a motivating factor, and also the teams that you could potentially get could be an experience that lads would treasure for the rest of their life.
“If we can use that and harness that to try and push them through this game then why not?”
