Legia v Hibs preview

Edinburgh Evening News

Legia v Hibs UEFA Conference League playoff preview. Is there a hint of fragility about the Poles?

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm here at the Legia Warsaw Training Ground on a beautiful sunny day just outside

00:08Warsaw where we've just been chatting to Edward Jordanescu about tomorrow night's game against

00:14Hibs.

00:15Hibs news first, let's look at it from the perspective of Hibs first.

00:23Massive game and opportunity to get into European league or group phase football for the first

00:28time in history, it's hard to overstate the importance of this game and where it might

00:34fit in the great history of the club as European pioneers if they were to get through this

00:39tomorrow night.

00:40In the modern era, they would come and get the win, having trailed 2-1 last week, they're

00:45coming to get the win and win it by enough to get through.

00:48By whatever means, whether it goes to extra time, penalties, whatever it is, it would be

00:53an utterly remarkable performance, a remarkable achievement.

00:56But I don't think it's beyond them.

01:01Players being fit again will help.

01:02If Jamie McGrath's fit, you have to think he plays.

01:06They're sure enough in terms of creating chances last week just to think that there will be

01:12opportunities for them.

01:14Of course, they also gave up two goals, which is something they'll want to avoid.

01:20The Legia boss, Edward Jordanescu's got a wee touch of the Brendan Rodgers about him this

01:25week in that Legia are losing players at a quite alarming rate and not really replacing

01:31them.

01:32I think there was a major report in the Romanian press suggesting that he was unhappy with this.

01:39And chatting to him just now, he didn't really dispel those stories very much.

01:45You know, they've got Zolkowski's going away to Roma after the game.

01:50They've just lost the player to the Blackburn as well.

01:53He made a lot of chat about the promises he made when he came to Legia, but the promises

01:58he was made and things that were made clear and he said, I promise you the board understand

02:01what I want and what I don't want and what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.

02:05So there's a little, a little hint of turmoil there, a little hint of maybe a club who are

02:11waiting to see how they go, waiting to see if they get back in at the Conference League

02:15where they were quarterfinals last year before they spend again or what happens on the transfer

02:22front.

02:23Whether that comes into the game tomorrow night or who knows, who knows.

02:27It's just a little bit of unsettled nature there that maybe if Hibbs make a good start

02:32as they did last week and maybe if they take a goal this time during that early pressure,

02:37you might just tap into something with the Legia fans who know that the manager's unhappy,

02:42who knows he's been putting pressure on the board.

02:44I don't know what Polish for sack the board is, but we'll find out tomorrow night maybe

02:48if that comes up.

02:50But again, back to a Hibbs perspective, they come here with a strong team.

02:56I don't think you'll expect too many changes.

02:58You can't really break up the defence.

03:00The front two of Boyle and Bowie were again name-checked today by the manager and one of

03:06the defenders we were chatting to as being a real handful and it caused a lot of difficulties.

03:14I think if Hibbs start the way they started last week, take their chance, all bets are

03:20off.

03:21You really are into the situation there where anything could happen.

03:26They'll have to be wary of a home crowd, a home team fired up by the home crowd, but

03:31having beaten the Belgrade and won there, again, something that Jordan Eskew mentioned

03:36today.

03:37It's a team that drew with Mitchell on the way that beat Partizan in Belgrade.

03:41As he points out, they're not here by accident and I think that's important for Hibbs players

03:46to remember.

03:46It's something that David Gray goes on about all the time, about the belief in the confidence.

03:51It's not a fluke that Hibbs, despite having to start a lot earlier than they might have

03:56done, that have made it to these UEFA Conference League playoffs.

04:00Certainly no fluke.

04:02And if they get through tomorrow night, it might be one of the great moments in the modern

04:07era of the club.

04:08We'll be back to the next week.

04:09We'll be back to the next week.

04:10Okay.

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