Andrew Smith: Elfs hand Hibs giant task

HIBERNIAN HAVE never knowingly oversold their involvement in the Intertoto Cup. At times, they seem not so much to have been dampening down expectations for their season opener against Elfsborg at Easter Road this afternoon as throwing a ruddy big blanket over them.

"They are the toughest team we could have played," says Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen of the second-round opponents. "In our first game we are not going to be firing on all cylinders but we will give our best to fire as close to maximum," admits the club's centre-back Chris Hogg. "We have never qualified for the UEFA Cup group stages; they were there last year," Paatelainen points out. "If I was a fan I'd expect us to hit the ground running straight away, but we have to be realistic and if we make a few slack passes, we make a few slack passes," Hogg cautions.

Basically, the Intertoto Cup – or "possible two-round passport to the UEFA Cup" as it is often known – would have been a sound venture for the Leith club were it not for the damnable luck in first-off drawing a Swedish side who are three months into a summer league they sit second in after an eight-game run during which they haven't conceded a goal.

Cue the inevitable questions over whether Scottish football might be working to the wrong calendar – especially ahead of the Intertoto being subsumed into the UEFA Cup which, for one of Scotland's representatives, will begin in late June next year.

"This is not a good time for a Scottish club to enter a competition because whenever you do enter one you want to do well," Paatelainen concedes. "It comes when you haven't trained enough and haven't played enough and the timing explains why Scandinavian teams from Sweden, Denmark and Norway regularly qualify for the Intertoto.

"But a summer league in Scotland would be a big, big change. The festive season is always a big time on our calendar. There are always pluses and minuses and I have nothing against a summer league and nothing against the current format. With the UEFA Cup in June next year, there are difficulties with the present programme. When will players get a rest? Perhaps there could be some adjustment."

And yet, Paatelainen says he can't wait for this afternoon's encounter and that a competitive European game against quality opposition is "great" and the best way to "learn and improve".

At least the Hibs manager's frustrations over being unable to reshape his squad beyond losing Guillaume Beuzelin and gaining David van Zanten means he is not faced with the added problem of bedding new players into the team before they have even played a bounce match. "I like the way you can turn that into a positive," he says ruefully. "We are working very hard to sign players and hope to make announcements soon. But, yes, the players know the level I demand and how I expect them to play."

Although popular among Hibs supporters, some have been less than enamoured with Paatelainen over a more direct approach they believe he has introduced since arriving in January. Hogg, though, insists the principal underpinning the football demanded by the club's fans has not altered.

"Every manager has their own style," he says. "Mixu has different ideas from the other managers I have worked with, but the priority is still to pass and move the ball well. He still wants everyone in the team to pass it. If you can do that from the back, why not? But if you have to go long from the goalkeeper at times, why not as well? it is about getting the right blend."

Paatelainen, who has an onerous task to maintain the profile and plaudits the club garnered under John Collins and Tony Mowbray before him, is not interested in an international blend when it comes to the players he wants to attract. Scots for a Scottish club is how he sees the best way forward. The Finn won't merely restrict himself to the local market. Thus far, that is where he has concentrated his efforts, picking up Scots Colin Nish, John Rankin and Irishman Van Zanten from lower level SPL clubs.

"I like to have as many Scotsmen in my squad as possible," he says. "But if a certain type of player we would benefit from can't be found among Scottish players, then we would have to go for a foreigner. It is not a policy to shop in the SPL, though. I would sign a Scotsman from abroad or wherever.

"We will never be a team that is made up 100% of Scotsmen. But these are the players I want to sign from the team spirit side and because they are comfortable with the language, the culture and the SPL style of play. Whenever you bring in a foreigner it is always a big gamble. For example, (Abderaouf] Zarabi, who came in January, has played really well for Algeria against Brazil and Argentina. But it is different here and there is always a question mark over how a player will settle in Scotland and settle into the way football is played."

Alas for Hibs, Swedish players always seem to relish the physical Scottish style.