Hibernian manager David Gray insists his side will not defend their 2-1 first-leg lead against FK Shkendija in the Conference League third qualifying round, despite temperatures set to approach 35 degrees on match night in Skopje.
Gray's Key Factors for the Second Leg
Gray identified the heat and humidity, the change in tactics from a host side needing to rescue the tie, and the overall different environment as the main challenges his players must deal with.
“Technically, we don’t need to score over there, but you can’t go over there thinking that we're just going to go and defend a lead. Absolutely not,” Gray said.
“It'll be a very different environment, a very different game. The way the game will be played will be very different.”
Learning From Kosovo Defeat
Hibs lost 2-0 to Malisheva in Kosovo in their previous away European outing, but Gray believes the players have learned from that experience.
“I think the players learn from the experience. It's very rare that you have so many players off it on the one day and that's something we definitely suffered on that day,” he said.
“The biggest way to fix that was to go and turn it around in the return leg, which we did. So you can certainly learn from it.”
Confidence Boost From Rangers Win
Warren O’Hora’s stoppage-time winner in the first leg gave Hibs control, and the subsequent Premiership victory over Rangers boosted confidence further.
“One thing that certainly helps is three points that we got at Ibrox. Certainly from a confidence point of view and belief point of view that the squad's going in the right direction,” Gray added.
Jamie McGrath’s return against Rangers was another bonus, with Gray praising his creativity and composure, along with the contributions of Callum Wright and Ante Suto.
“It gives you, obviously, much more competition and much more creativity. You saw that even in half an hour against Rangers,” he said.
“The full group now can all feel really good about themselves because everybody's contributing. And that's what's required.”
