John Hughes would prefer the sack to long-ball game

As a huge fan of Dutch football, Hughes has had his philosophy on how the game should be played reinforced during the Edinburgh club's tour of Holland, delighting in the skills shown by Heracles as they dismantled his side in their opening match.

But the lessons appeared to have been taken on board as Hibs played NEC Nigmegen at their own game, patiently knocking the ball about as their hosts were taken aback, having expected a "typical" British-style approach from their visitors.

Whether Hughes' determination to instil his beliefs into his squad will translate into success in the SPL does, of course, remain to be seen, but today the Hibs boss insisted he'd even risk his job in his pursuit of footballing excellence.

Hughes held a barnstorming meeting with his players following the 3-0 defeat by Heracles, a side which finished sixth in the Eredivisie last season, and admitted he was surprised when the "Scottish mentality" was raised as a topic of discussion.

He said: "We went through the game, watched the DVD, and while I am saying this through gritted teeth, I really enjoyed it. I may be wrong, but I'd like to think that had that team come to Easter Road and played the way they did, the Hibs supporters would get up out of their seats and applaud them off.

"We had a really good discussion, open and frank with plenty of feedback but the one thing that did surprise me and was written up on the board, was the Scottish mentality, do we want to do it right, to be different from others; are you just saying it or are you really going to go about it 24/7?

"I can only talk about Hibs, it's not for me to talk about Scotland or other clubs, but I want to try to do it our way so that in years to come coaches are coming to Hibs asking 'what do these guys do, they are doing it differently'.

"It can be done, but you have to have a belief that it can be done. The easiest thing for a football player is to kick the ball as far away as possible but that is not how football is played.

"I keep saying to the players I don't want to bump into them in Princes Street in ten or 20 years and for them to say, 'by the way, you were 100 per cent right'. You have to sieze it, grasp it right now and you will become all the better for it.

"Of course you need to get results, if you don't you get the sack. But is it worth the risk? Definitely, that's how solid I am in my beliefs. I am maybe setting myself up here, but you have to be strong in how you believe the game should be played and how to get the best out of your players."