David Gray spells out Hibs second leg danger - but protection is not part of the plan

The Hibees pulled off a 2-0 win in Serbia last Thursday to put themselves firmly in the driving seat to face the loser of the tie between AEK Larnaca and Legia Warsaw in the next round.

But Gray is not taking progress for granted and has urged his side, who squandered a 2-0 lead in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at home to Kilmarnock in the William Hill Premiership, go into Thursday’s second leg at Easter Road with the mindset that the tie is still level.

“It’s half-time in the tie, nothing’s been achieved yet, other than we’re in a brilliant position,” said the Hibs boss on Wednesday. “But it’s 0-0 in this game. We go into every single game trying to win the game, and we’ll be no different going in tomorrow night with that mindset.

“If you try and hold on and protect and protect and protect, you’ll leave yourself exposed, so I will definitely be approaching the game as if it’s 0-0 with all to play for.

“We know the threat and the danger that Partizan possess. But it’s another sell-out at Easter Road, European night, under the lights. We know how good the atmosphere was in the Midtjylland game and I expect it to be exactly the same again. Everything’s geared up for a fantastic night, hopefully.”

‘They will come and have a go’

Hibs capitalised on Partizan being reduced to 10 men last week and Gray remains wary of the threat posed by the Serbs, who won 7-2 at Napredak on Sunday.

“They’ll be full of confidence,” said the manager, who welcomes Nicky Cadden back from injury. “They made a few changes on Sunday and had good players coming in so whatever eleven they select, they’ll be good players.

“They’re a young, fearless side, we saw that when they went down to 10 men because they still threw absolutely everything at it. I fully expect it to be exactly the same again with the intensity, the way they press, the way they come after us, and they’ve got real good quality technical players.

“It’ll be another huge test for us and we need to be at our very best to make sure we get a positive result.

“They’re 2-0 down, they’re going to have to come and have a go, whatever that looks like and whatever way they believe gives them the best chance to do that.

“We’ve tried to prepare the players as best we can for what to expect, but also how we can hurt the opposition going the other way and try to win the game on the night.”