Hibernian

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Hibernian head coach David Gray has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to welcome Malisheva in the second leg of their Conference League qualifier.

Here are the main points:

• Gray says there are "no excuses" after last week's 2-0 first-leg defeat in Kosovo but feels he has seen a good reaction from the players in training.

• He admits: "We were below the level required [last week] and we need to be far better in every area to make sure we turn it around."

• But the Hibs boss stresses "it is only half-time in the tie, we can still turn it around", adding: "I fully believe we can and so do the players".

• Gray has urged the crowd to play their part: "Some of the best nights I've experienced as a coach and a player are at home at Easter Road with the fans right behind you."

• And he stresses "the players are determined to try and turn this around", admitting "no one enjoys results and performances like that, you saw the frustration from the fans and rightly so but everyone is looking for that reaction, none more so than the players themselves."

• Gray "expects movement both ways [in and out]" before the end of the window, but if players move on "it has to be right for everyone".

• Team news: Ante Suto could be available but is facing "a race against time" to be fit.

Matty Fairnie
Fan writer

Where will you finish in the league and why?

I think we'll be top six but short of where the club's ambitions are, which would be a top-four finish. Having watched some of our pre-season matches and a shambolic away tie in Europe, it doesn't look like we have addressed the issues that made our style of play so beige last season. We'll do well enough to not be in any bother but we won't trouble the teams at the top of the league. It'll be a depressingly uneventful season.

Who is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?

So far, and putting his glaring misses in Europe to one side just now, I'm most excited by the loan signing of Nathan Lowe from Stoke. It's a shame that he is only with us for the season as he looks like a real threat in front of goal.

What do you want from your manager this season?

I want David Gray to take the shackles off the team. We ended last season really struggling to create chances in games or really dominate the opposition. I'd love Gray to do something transformative with the team and completely shift from the style we've seen from him so far.

Who will be the breakout star in your squad?

Owen Elding is the player I expect to see have the most attention this season. He shone when he featured last season and at only 20 he has a very bright future in front of him. I think Hibs did a great bit of business securing his signature and I hope he features a lot this season.

What is your one major concern?

My biggest worry is that we haven't addressed the issues of last season. Already this term we've conceded a last-minute goal, which was a constant thorn in our side last season, and on the basis of the European game last week, the football on offer was awful. Gray has shown that he's more than capable of producing effective football but the fallout from the support in the wake of the embarrassing European defeat shows that even if we progress in the tie, his coat's on a shoogly peg already and a poor start to the league campaign, even if we do progress in this European tie, will see the noise grow and his position may become untenable.

You can find Matty Fairnie at Longbangers podcast, external

Malisheva manager Thomas Brdaric believes Hibernian did not adequately prepare for the Kosovan club's hybrid pitch as the Easter Road side lost 2-0 in Thursday's Conference League second qualifying round first-leg defeat. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required, external)

Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Jackson Thomson, 16, son of former Dundee, Hibernian, Rangers and Scotland midfielder Kevin, has signed his first professional contract with Hibs. (Sun, external)

Manager Thomas Brdaric says Malisheva "need a strategy" to complete victory over Hibernian at Easter Road in the Conference League second qualifying round, having opened up a 2-0 first-leg advantage. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required, external)

Monday's Scottish gossip

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland in Pristina

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Left-back Jordan Obita says Hibernian can overhaul the two-goal deficit against Malisheva with the backing of fans at Easter Road.

The Kosovan side embarrassed Hibs in Pristina by claiming a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Conference League second qualifying round tie.

But Obita, who was part of the side who defeated Inter Club d'Escaldes 6-1 after a shock 2-1 defeat in Andorra three years ago, says the tie can be turned around with the help of supporters.

"We need the fans like they are at home - very behind us," Obita said.

"As long as we're playing and doing our part, they will do theirs too. We always know that our games away from home and at home are completely different. So next week we need to be on fire from the beginning.

"As long as we start like we do normally, especially last week against Brondby, we can probably shock them too.

"How we can start, come out the blocks firing from the get-go. And hopefully we can do that. If we get a goal early, then anything can happen."

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland in Pristina

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Captain Martin Boyle says Hibernian are braced for a "negative week" after the embarrassment of defeat by FC Malisheva on Thursday.

Some fans berated the squad as they left the stadium in Pristina, after Hibs recorded one of their worst ever results against the Kosovan minnows.

Boyle believes the team can turn the 2-0 deficit around at Easter Road next week, but knows there will continue to be fierce criticism after such a poor start to the season.

"We'll take what will come our way," Boyle said. "We know it's going to be a negative week, but only us as players can turn it around.

"We certainly believe in what the manager is doing, which has got us in this position over the last two years.

"We have no choice but to turn this around. So we'll take what comes this week, and it'll be a real test of character next week."

Asked if Boyle understood some fans' anger, the forward said: "One hundred per cent. They've spent a lot of money to come here. Two flights, I believe, no direct flights.

"They're entitled to their opinion. If I was in their position, I'd probably be a little bit angry too. They're entitled to it. They can certainly show that.

"And like I say, hopefully they're back in next week. We can get a positive turnout and get the result that we want and get through the next round."

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Hibernian's European disappointment will be "instantly forgotten about" if they manage to get a big result when they welcome Malisheva to Easter Road next week.

David Gray's side were beaten 2-0 in Kosovo on Thursday afternoon in the first leg of the Conference League second qualifying round, in one of the Edinburgh club's worst ever results.

But former Celtic and Motherwell striker Cillian Sheridan is urging fans to wait until the conclusion of next week's game in Leith before making any judgements about Gray and the season ahead.

"I've been going back in my head to where I think you have to judge them at the end of the two games," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"If you go back to Brendan Rodgers' first game at Celtic, he's lost to Lincoln Red Imps [in Champions League qualifying] and then goes on and has one of Celtic's best seasons.

"Yes, they're due criticism for losing a game like that, but I think overall you have to wait and fully judge them at the end of the tie. Because Hibs could come home and win four or five nil, and then that result is instantly forgotten about."

Sheridan, who played in Cyprus with Apoel Nicosia and Omonia Nicosia, recalls playing European games in the afternoons in the height of summer, and how difficult it made the conditions.

"Malisheva will have wanted to make the conditions as tough as they could for Hibs," he added.

"You used to have it a few years ago in Cyprus when if you get drawn with a Scandinavian team or something like that, the clubs would always try and have the games a little bit earlier in the day for the heat and take advantage of it."

Hibs fans, we asked for your views after Thursday's defeat to Malisheva in Conference League qualifying.

Here's what some of you had to say:

David: Worst performance from a Hibs team I have seen in 45 years of supporting them, every player was a 1/10. The manager has to go, his job was to get the players ready and he failed again.

Sandy: As Arnie [Schwarzenegger] once said "we'll be back". We have to suspect that's the worst performance of the season out the way now. It's half time in the tie and there has to be a positive result in the second leg or David Gray could well be in trouble.

Tom: I live in Australia and have been following Hibs for 70 years, it's the same old story - full of promise but can't deliver. Sick of hearing David Gray saying it is his problem to fix. After a great European effort last season let's hope we can find three goals at least at Easter Road and get back on track, and get a decent team together to challenge for the league.

James: Time for a new manager. David Gray is a nice man but not dynamic or ruthless enough to be a manager. If he stays Hibs are doomed to mediocrity.

Paddy: Turgid garbage. Gray is not up to the job of motivating this bunch of players enough to beat a team of amateurs. Time for managerial change.

Graeme: An utter disaster of a performance. A team that will struggle to finish top six in the Premiership under this Gray management. So dour and slow. Eye-bleeding to watch.

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Hibernian head coach David Gray: "I'm not going to have any sort of excuse. I'm not going to come up with any of that at all.

"Everything I thought the game would be today in terms of what the opposition would do, I thought happened. As I've already said, that aggressive intensity, the transition when they scored the second goal, especially when you look at how they broke on us, everything we thought it would be.

"The biggest part of it today is the fact that we were way below the levels required.

"That wasn't just one or two players. To win any game of football at any level, never mind European football, you need to have a level of performance that's good enough throughout the team.

"I don't think there's a single player today that can hold their hand up and say, I was at the very best of my ability today.

"The team, the individuals, the collective, I can talk about the quality, I can talk about everything. I can come up with any sort of excuse to defend it. I'm not going to at all.

"I'm not going to defend it. It's my responsibility to fix it. That is a reflection of my team, which isn't of the standards acceptable for the football club at any time."

Hibernian suffered one of the club's worst ever results as Kosovan minnows FC Malisheva stunned the Scottish Premiership side in the second round of Uefa Conference League qualifying.

Read the match report here.

Have your say on the result here.

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Hibernian's summer recruits are looking good and it's down to the "fantastic job" being done by sporting director Malky Mackay, reckons Andy Halliday.

Ahead of the Leith side's return to competitive action in the Conference League second qualifying round first leg against Malisheva in Kosovo, head coach David Gray has some selection headaches.

Key creator Nicky Cadden is one of the core squad members ruled out with injury, but former Hearts and Motherwell midfielder Halliday anticipates the summer reinforcements filling the void well, particularly at the top end of the park.

"Under David Gray, especially over the last couple of seasons, a big part of their strategy is to utilise the wing-backs and put crosses into the box," Halliday told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"I think I'd probably make a strong case that Nicky Cadden is arguably the best crosser in the league and a huge output for Hibs in terms of their chances created on that left-hand side.

"So I think that's a huge miss."

Striker Kieron Bowie left for Hellas Verona in January, when the 23-year-old Scotland striker became Hibs' biggest-ever sale, departing for a fee that the club said "substantially exceeds" the previous record of £4.4m for Scott Brown's move to Celtic.

Replacement Nathan Lowe, who is on loan from Stoke City, scored a double on his home debut in a pre-season friendly against Brondby.

"I do look at some of their recruitment Hibs have already done and I think a couple of the bits of business they've done so far have looked promising," Halliday added.

"They were needing a striker to replace Kieran Bowie and I think a couple of the young boys that came in last year, Owen Elding, Dane Scarlett, I thought they looked like really, really promising players, but I think a little bit more experienced at the top end of the pitch.

"I think the boy [Nathan Lowe] obviously has come on loan from Stoke and managed to get a half-decent debut against Brondby."

Aberdeen have expressed an interest in 29-year-old Hibernian right-back Chris Cadden. (Sky Sports, external)

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Hibernian head coach David Gray has been talking to the media ahead of Thursday's Conference League second qualifying round first leg against Malisheva in Kosovo.

Here are his key points:

• Callum Wright and Ante Suto will join Jamie McGrath and Nicky Cadden in missing the first leg in Kosovo.

• The squad visited the Fadil Vokkri Stadium and Gray says the pitch is a "good size and good surface" and he has "no complaints" about the venue.

• Gray has watched Malisheva as much as possible and says they are a "very aggressive" and "very intense" side who will "fight for every inch".

• The Hibs boss loved his experience in last season's Conference League qualifiers and is "hungry" to deliver that again for Hibs and take them to the league phase.

• If there is any complacency then it will be punished, but the players are well aware of that danger.

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland in Pristina

Image source, SNS

Hibernian's Conference League opponents FC Malisheva from Kosovo were only formed in 2016, starting in the nation's fourth tier and securing top-flight football for the first time in 2021.

After consolidating with mid-table finishes, Malisheva finished third two seasons ago and second last term, finishing seven points behind champions Drita.

This is their third season attempting to qualify for the Conference League, having lost 3-1 on aggregate to Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro in 2024 after a 1-0 home win.

Last season, they were thumped 9-0 over two legs by Vikingur Reykjavik following an 8-0 drubbing in Iceland.

However, their dismissal of Albanian side Vllaznia in the last round was a statement of intent as they secured their first ever victory in a European tie via a 5-0 second leg victory.

New signing Kreshnik Uka scored twice in that game and will pose a threat to Hibs, having hit 19 goals last season in Kosovos top-flight.

Image source, Getty Images

Hibs break new ground when they take on Malisheva on Thursday as the first Scottish club to take on opposition from Kosovo.

David Gray's side may not know too much about the hosts but can expect baking hot conditions in Pristina.

And that experience could help if they progress to face either Shkendija or NK Bravo in the third qualifying round of the Conference League.

North Macedonia is a short hop away, while Slovenia is about a 10-hour drive.

Scotland wilted in the Skopje sunshine back in 2008, with former Hibees Gary Caldwell, Scott Brown, Paul Hartley and Kenny Miller all starting that day, while Shkendija held Aberdeen 1-1 in 2015 before going out on away goals.

Shkendija made their European debut in the 2011–12 campaign and have already amassed 67 Uefa tournament matches.

Hibs are only just ahead on 76, having been invited to play in the inaugural European Cup way back in 1955-56.

The Easter Road side put up promising displays against Midtjylland, Partizan Belgrade and Legia Warsaw last summer but fell short in their league phase quest.

Shkendija did just that for the first time, beating Shelbourne and Slovan Bratislava to finish 22nd in the Conference League before a heavy aggregate loss to Samsunspor in the play-off round.

NK Bravo are European novices though, having climbed through the league system since their formation in 2006.

The Slovenians made their debut in 2024-25 and needed extra-time to get past Welsh club Connah's Quay Nomads before losing out to Zrinjski Mostar.

The first leg of their qualifier with Shkendija will be just their third Uefa fixture.

However, Hibs will need to be careful if they do end up in Llubjana since they were dismantled by a slick Maribor on their last visit to Slovenia 16 years ago, when Bravo were scrapping it out in the depths of the fifth tier.

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Hibernian head coach David Gray admits he is not an expert on Kosovan side Malisheva, who they face in the second round of Conference League qualifying, but insists his side will be fully prepared for Thursday's first leg.

The Kosovan Superleague runners-up beat Albanian side Vllaznia 6-2 on aggregate to reach this stage and having watched those two matches, Gray expects a tough test.

"It's one of those ties you're not too sure - I'm not going to sit here and say I know a lot abut football in Kosovo," he told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.

"We watched both games and they fully deserved to go through [against Vllaznia]. They are a physical side, high energy and quite transitional. It will be a tough test, going away from home in Europe.

"The players are ready and will be well prepped. I'm just looking forward to the game now."

Hibs go into the tie off the back of a friendly victory over Brondby on Saturday after a draw against Porto last weekend.

They performed admirably in European qualifying last season, beating Partizan Belgrade in the third round of Conference League qualifying before losing a play-off against Legia Warsaw.

"We came so close last season, had some brilliant nights," Gray said. "We're taking it one game at a time and trying to be the first team to get group stage football for Hibs.

"We've played Porto and Brondby in friendlies and come through well - the players should take confidence from that.

"It's all about the real stuff on Thursday, the players are ready to go, as am I."

Gray says he expects transfers in and out of Easter Road in the weeks to come, but insists he is delighted with the state of his squad after some early business.

"I'm really happy with where the squad's at," he said.

"I don't think you can ever say 'that's the shop closed'. You need to be proactive all the time while the window's open. I'm pleased with the business we've done early - that's a big thing.

"The squad is quite bloated in certain areas, so I expect movement both ways between now and the window closing."

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Hibernian wide man Nicky Cadden will miss Thursday's season opener against Malisheva in Kosovo in the Conference League second qualifying round, but midfielder Jamie McGrath could recover in time.

Head coach David Gray said the pair are his only injury concerns following Saturday's 2-1 win over Brondby at Easter Road in their final pre-season friendly.

Midfielder Callum Wright, the summer arrival from Plymouth Argyle, came off before half-time, but Gray reckons "it's just more precautionary than anything else".

"He was just feeling his thigh a little bit and we're hoping it's just more fatigue and tightness," he said.

"He was one that missed a bit of pre-season at the start with a toe injury."

As for forward Boyle, he "just got some late contact before he came off".

Gray revealed that Cadden and McGrath, who missed the match against the Danes, both have calf issues.

"Nicky will be a wee bit longer, so unfortunately for him, he might be a few weeks, whereas Jamie we're hoping to be back in days rather than weeks, which is more positive on that front," he said.

Gray was particularly pleased with Nathan Lowe, the on-loan Stoke City forward who scored both Hibs goals against Brondby in "another good exercise for the players against a real good opponent".

"He started really well, but it's his all-round play, what he brought to the team was excellent," he added.