BOYLE IN RALLYING CONFERENCE CALL
Mart out to maul Andorran minnows and fire up Hibs’ group stage hopes
MARTIN BOYLE insists Hibs are on a Europa Conference League group spot mission as they aim to continue raising the Easter Road bar.
The 28-year-old is convinced an extended run in the tourney is the target as they prepare to face Santa Coloma in the second round first-leg qualifier in Leith tonight.
Anything less than a win over the Andorran minnows will be unacceptable for a side which aims to build on last season’s thirdplace Premiership finish and Scottish Cup Final appearance.
But Boyle believes the sweat and toil of the previous campaign must be rewarded as they look to enter uncharted territory in UEFA’s latest continental creation.
The striker said: “We are trying to qualify for the group stage of European football. We put in the hard work last season, we need to continue that.
“That is the main goal at the end of the day. We will take it game by game and take it as seriously as we can. We are not here for a jolly up and we know the rewards at the end of the day and that’s qualifying for the group stages.
“We want an extended run after all of the hard work from last season to gain access to it.
“We don’t want to be knocked out at the first possible point.
“We need to be well prepared and the manager has done that.
“We’ve put in a lot of work and there is still one more day to go and we will make sure we are fully prepared for what they bring on Thursday night.”
The Australian international is adamant there will be no complacency against Santa Coloma in their bid to book a third round spot against Malta’s Gzira United or HNK Rijeka of Croatia.
Boyle believes the revival in fortunes at his club under Jack Ross has all been about setting goals and successfully selling them to the players.
He said: “We can’t go in there against Santa Coloma thinking we will dominate the ball, we don’t know much about them but we will go through the analysis.
“We will see what they are like and what they will bring.
“With the fans on our side, hopefully we can play our normal game, take the game to them and get a positive result to take to Andorra.
“We’ve got a great belief in this squad. Since the manager’s come in, he’s put a plan out on what we want to achieve and we’re all working towards the same goal.
“We’ve heavily bought into that. We had a successful-ish season last year – minus a few cup games
– but finishing third in the league was great for us. Hopefully we can go one step further this year and add European football to the equation.
“The manager is big on setting targets and goals and making sure we know where we are at and what we want to achieve.
“When he mentions what we want to do I’m sure we’ll heavily buy into it.”
The announcement earlier this week of a new two-year deal for Ross, which takes him to 2024, was a good news story for both the Hibs fans and for Boyle.
He believes he has more reason than most to celebrate his manager further committing his future to the club.
Boyle added: “It’s brilliant that he’s committed his future, which is personally brilliant for me.
“I feel that we have a brilliant relationship and he’s been fantastic for me.
“When I look at the numbers from last season, he’s given me the freedom to play which is all that any player can ask for.
“He has a great staff and he’s just added David Gray to that staff as well, which will be an even bigger boost for him. “He’s a great man-manager and from the first day that he came in all of the players have bought into what he wants. We feel like we had a successful season last time around which is good for the club.” “Personally, I was coming back from injury and I didn’t really know what was going to happen. “With a new manager coming in he may not have fancied me so it could have been completely different for myself. He’s come in and been fantastic for me, he’s given me the time on the pitch and I’ve paid him back in the numbers.
“Goals and assists were exactly what he wanted and he’s taken the club to a better level.
“We are much more competitive so he’s deserved what he’s earned and long may it continue.”
If Hibs can gain an advantage over Santa Coloma this evening, it would take some of the pressure off the return leg in Andorra where the high temperatures could pose a problem.
But Boyle believes it will be no different to the current heatwave that is being experienced across Scotland.
He said: “Hopefully Andorra will be no bother for me and the other boys won’t be suffering.
“At the same time the weather has been just as hot here so I’m sure we’ll adapt well.
“If we can get the ball down and make them do the running about, they’ll be more tired than us.”