Spirit of 2001 now needed for NK return

Two goals down to AEK Athens following the first leg of their UEFA Cup clash nine years ago, the Hibees looked to be down and out only to stage a stunning fightback which had the Greeks reeling.

Two second-half goals from Paco Luna pulled them level only for the Spaniard to somehow miss a last-gasp header which would have ensured glory. Luna's miss, however, allowed the Greeks time to rally as the match moved into extra-time and, although French ace David Zitelli clinched victory on the night, AEK had managed two of their own by that point to ease home 4-3 on aggregate.

Today, as he reflected on a crushing 3-0 defeat in Slovenia, Murray admitted it would take a performance of similar proportions if Hibs are to have any chance of advancing to the play-off stages of the Europa League when they stage the second leg against Maribor on Thursday night.

Murray, the sole surviving member of the team that played AEK although current team-mates Derek Riordan and Paul Hanlon were among the fans, said: "It was my first thought as we came off, that we need another 'Athens' night. We'd done pretty well in the first half over there, 0-0 at half-time but they got a quick penalty and then another.

"It may have looked all over, but Alex McLeish (then Hibs manager] gave probably the best team talk I ever heard from him in the dressing-room straight afterwards. He told us it wasn't over, he drummed that into us and we actually travelled home believing we could still do it.

"As it turned out we came within a whisker, if only Paco had managed to get his third goal"

The difference this time round, of course, is that Maribor, Slovenia's most successful side, lead by three goals rather than the two AEK brought to Edinburgh, making the task ahead for John Hughes' players all the more difficult.

But, argued Murray, the same approach adopted in 2001 must be the mantra in a few days time. He said: "With all due respect to Maribor, I think Athens were a better side, had better quality players and yet we almost managed to do it.

"There was no score at half-time in the AEK game and yet there was no panic, we still felt confident. Now, it's not just the gaffer, Brian Rice [Hibs' assistant manager] and Gareth Evans [first team coach] who must believe it is still on but all of us."

Again, however, the danger is that if Maribor manage an away goal it would all be over as it would leave Hibs seeking five rather than the three to force the tie into extra-time, as Murray conceded.

He said: "If they do that then it is curtains. We need goals obviously, but we also have to be careful. It's easy to say ‘let's go 4-3-3 with Derek, Anthony Stokes and Colin Nish all up front' but we can't afford to concede.

"If it's still 0-0 at half-time then we'd really have to go for it with all guns blazing, it's as simple as that."

Murray also agreed Hibs must be less charitable to Maribor second time round with boss Hughes branding the second and third goals lost as "self-inflicted," David Wotherspoon and then Kevin McBride surrendering possession all too easily while Murray himself slipped at the vital moment to allow Josip Ilicic the first of his double.

He said: "They are a decent side and we knew they'd fancy their chances of beating us at home but the manner in which we lost the goals was disappointing. I slipped at the crucial moment unfortunately. Do that further up the pitch, you are still annoyed but you get away with it.

"Do it in that area you are playing with a man down quite literally although it was a fantastic finish from their guy."

Murray revealed he felt he and his team-mates had let the 300 or so Hibs fans who had made the arduous journey down - the lack of direct flights to Slovenia meaning the supporters arrived from staging posts as diverse as Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna, Graz and Zagreb - but insisted the players needed them behind them all the way this coming Thursday.

He said: "It's going to be hard, very hard but, as I have said, we still have a chance no matter how slim it might be. You never know, they might think it is already all over which might affect their mental approach, they might rest a few players or change their formation.

"We can change our personnel and formation and it would be interesting to see just what an early goal might do as it would ask them some questions and get our supporters really up for it. I know we disappointed our fans, they spent a lot of money going to Slovenia and we let them down pretty badly.

"It's a big ask for us to ask them to come out, pay again and hope to see us turn it around but that's what we have to do. We have to stick together and at the end of the day that's what we are all in it for, to support the club and to try to get through to the next round."

Hughes led his team home in the early hours of yesterday morning, the return flight leaving him, his backroom staff and players alike plenty of time to contemplate both on what happened in Maribor and the task ahead.

Murray said: "We'll have a couple of days to regroup then we'll get ready to go again. It's a tall order but we have to believe we can do it just as we did against AEK.

"I'll be talking to the boys about that experience from now to kick-off, we came within a whisker that night - now we have to believe we can go one better."

"Quote in here and here ghg hg gh gh ghg hg hg hg hg hg hg hg hg hg hg hg hg hghg"

name name