Players should swap couch and TV for the real thing, insists John Hughes

The Easter Road manager has also called for Murray's team-mates to have a more practical outlook if they wish to improve their chances of progressing in the game.

Hughes rued the fact that while many of his players spent yesterday morning enthusing about the previous night's Copa del Ray clash between Barcelona and Sevilla, few, if any, would be able to claim they would attend a Scottish Premier League match in which Hibs were not playing on their own accord.

Murray, he felt, should be applauded for wanting to involve himself in an extra-curricular activity that should also see him reap the benefits in terms of his own development. The 28-year-old has agreed to help his friend, Mark Lamb, out at Coldstream, who play in the Central Taxis Premier Division, in a coaching capacity. Hughes was initially wary, until he learned it was for only one night a week and the training would take place in Edinburgh.

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"It won't be too taxing," said Hughes, who stated that players should be concentrating on their own career 24 hours a day. "I think you have to start coaching (at some point]. It makes you a better player. I am massively in favour of going back to the classroom.

"If I asked any of my players right now if any of them has seen another SPL match then I don't think too many hands will go up. But, if that's your occupation, then take the time out to see other teams, and other individuals and find out what they have that's different to you."

Hughes' ears pricked up when he overheard some of his players recalling incidents from a match the previous night in Spain, where Barcelona defeated Sevilla 1-0 but failed to overturn a 2-1 defeat at home in the first leg. He noted that while they had been enjoying the skills of Messi et al on television, he had been at the sharp end watching Hamilton Accies v Dundee United.

Tannadice is where Hibs are due to play tomorrow in the Scottish Premier League, and it was clear Hughes might have preferred it if some of his players had taken the time to travel to New Douglas Park to assess this weekend's opposition.

"They were all talking about the Barca v Seville game last night. Aye, good on you, I say. But me and Chipper (assistant manager Brian Rice] are out there watching Hamilton v Dundee United. We are out doing the work."

Hughes recalled a documentary he once watched on Muhammad Ali, where the great boxer had reflected on the recipe for success. It's not what he did in the gym, he said, but what was within.

"You have the warrior in you, the desire and application," agreed Hughes. "It's our job to bring that out. Sometimes you have to batter into them and see who can handle it. We are trying to bring the kind of character into the club who sets standards. What they have given me until now is fantastic."

But Hughes knows they have more still to give, with two below-standard performances over the Christmas/New Year period, against Rangers and also last Saturday at home to Irvine Meadow, having disappointed him slightly. But he felt the spell he described as being crucial to their ambitions this season had generally gone well, with Hibs still in touch at the top of the league table.

However, Hughes is aware that tomorrow's opponents could leap-frog Hibs into third place with a win. The Hibs manager has identified a team which has reverted to type after a sticky patch which followed the loss of Craig Levein last month.

"Hamilton is a difficult place to go to, so that was a great victory," he said, returning to the previous night's win for United.

"I played with Peter Houston. He and Gary Kirk are more than capable of doing a job there. After the 7-1 defeat, they have steadied the ship. Last night they were the Dundee United that you saw under Craig. That's what we are expecting it will be like on Saturday. (But] we will go there and give it a right good go."