De Graaf says playing Dutch teams is the perfect way to get ready for Hibs' Europa League games

The Easter Road side will play the first of four games in Holland when they face Heracles Almelo tonight, a match which will quickly be followed by fixtures against NEC Nijmegen, ADO Den Haag and Vitesse Arnhem, all four sides from the Dutch top flight, the Eredivisie.

Hughes' stars will discover today who they will face in the third qualifying round of the Europa League with the draw being made in Nyon but De Graaf insisted whoever the opposition might prove to be, Hibs will be ready for the first leg of that tie in less than a fortnight's time.

The 30-year-old midfield ace said: "We are going to be playing against very good teams, all from the highest level in Holland which will let us see how far forward we are in our preparations. The good thing is that every team in Holland wants to play football. Their season begins a week before the SPL gets underway, their teams have been in pre-season training since the last week in June, so it will also be a good test of our fitness.

"It's a tough programme, four games in nine days against teams from the Eredivisie but it will be good preparation for Europe. The first game will be upon us very quickly and we must be ready for whoever we get in the draw."

Hibs' own preparations have, of course, been underway since the beginning of this month with the Dutch visit just part of a hectic programme of matches but a trip which came as a pleasant surprise to the former NAC Breda captain.

He said: "It was something of a surprise to sign for Hibs and then discover I'd be coming back to Holland so quickly.

"It will be nice for me to come up against a lot of players I've played against in the past and it will give my family and friends the chance to see me playing for Hibs. I have some friends who have told me they'll be going to all four games."

De Graaf's own personal fan club will be in place for tonight's match in the village of Tubbergen near Almelo, a game which, the player insisted, will give Hughes' squad a taste of things to come over the following days, Heracles having almost won a place in the Europa League themselves.

He said: "Heracles normally finish around mid-table but they had a great season last season. They finished sixth which, in Holland, saw them go into a play-off for a place in the Europa League involving the teams which also ended up seventh, eighth and ninth.

"But they lost out to FC Roda who, in turn, lost out to Utrecht who will also be going into today's third qualifying round draw."

Hercales' lofty finish was thanks to striker Bas Dost and Brazilian hitman Everton who each scored 14 goals, that tally enough to tempt SC Herenveen to snap up the young Dutchman in a 2.5 million deal.

And if Monday night's opposition NEC slumped to a far more modest 13th place finish last season, De Graaf pointed out it was only two years ago the team from Nijmegen were making waves in the old UEFA Cup. The Dutch side battled their way through the group stage, coming up against Dinamo Zagreb, Spurs, Spartak Moscow and Udinese before falling to Hamburg.

Like the matches against Heracles and Vitesse, Monday's match won't take place in the host club's own stadium but De Graaf promised Hibs a warm welcome on Wednesday when they visit his old club ADO in the Dutch capital.

He said: "Although most of the games are being played in smaller grounds, Dutch teams still get good crowds for their pre-season matches.

"Although ADO are based in the capital they've never really achieved the sort of success associated with the likes of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven but every Dutch club visiting Den Haag knows they'll get a tough time.

"The team works hard for each other and the fans are crazy, very noisy.

"But I think our own supporters will enjoy Holland. It's a nice country, there will be good football matches to watch and it will be easy to get about, the furthest they will have to travel is only an hour or an hour-and-a-half."

De Graaf himself can bring some much-needed European experience to Hughes' squad, the former Feyenoord academy player having scored five times as Breda's assault on the Europa League last season was brought to a shuddering halt by a 9-2 aggregate defeat by Spanish outfit Villareal.

But, he admitted, by the time this season's Euro adventure gets underway, he hopes to know much, much more, not only about his new team-mates, but Hibs and Scottish football in general.

Honest enough to reveal his knowledge of the Edinburgh club was sketchy before he penned his two-year deal, De Graaf, a former team-mate of ex-Ibrox striker Michael Mols who gave his move to Scotland the thumbs-up, said: "I knew about Rangers and Celtic and a little about Hibs - I knew Humphrey Rudge and Shelton Martis were here - Hearts and Aberdeen. But since coming to Edinburgh I can see Hibs are a big club, seeing that new stand going up to complete the ground is fantastic."Because of that we won't have any of our pre-season games at home which will mean my first at Easter Road will be a European game which is something to really look forward to.

"I'm also looking forward to getting around Scotland and playing at all the different grounds.

"I know Ibrox and Celtic Park and I was at Motherwell for that 6-6 game towards the end of last season but it will be an adventure not knowing what to expect when we are playing away.

"I've also been told about the Edinburgh derby against Hearts, a game we must win. But we also have derbies in Holland, in Rotterdam I played for Feyenoord against Sparta for example. In all I've probably played in a dozen derbies in Holland and like here they are always special games."