Defeat to strong Heracles will help Euro challenge, insists skipper

The Edinburgh club will face either Hungarian side Videoton or Maribor from Slovenia only five days after returning from the Netherlands, packing their bags to be on their travels again with the first leg of their third qualifying round tie away from home. But as he looked forward to tonight's second Dutch encounter, against NEC Nijmegen, who themselves rubbed shoulders with the likes of Dinamo Zagreb, Spurs, Spartak Moscow and Udinese in the group stages of the Europa League two years ago before being knocked out by Hamburg, Hogg insisted a demanding schedule was something he'd love to have every season as it would be proof of success.

The big defender conceded, however, that Hughes players have much to learn in a short space of time based on their experiences against Heracles, a side which finished sixth in the Dutch Eredivisie last season. He said: "It was a good lesson and I'm glad it's out of the way. But we've got to learn from it and move on. It's a real eye opener as a player.

"It's something to aspire to, something to work towards. I'm going to be proud leading Hibs into Europe. I don't know too much about the teams, but I think any game in Europe is going to be difficult. We'll prepare again, we've got a tough schedule this week and then we'll get back to Edinburgh to prepare.

"It's something the fans have looked forward to and obviously us, as players, are looking forward to getting involved. We have to improve. We've done alright pre-season so far, but Friday was an eye opener and is something we have to work towards. These games here will stand us in good stead for the European game."