Mixu wants Euro clashes to be part of Hibs' future

HIBS headed for Europe today with boss Mixu Paatelainen declaring: "This should be our destination every year."

And if the Easter Road club's interest in the InterToto Cup was seemingly ended by IF Elfsborg's 2-0 win in the Capital, Paatelainen believes the experience of facing the Swedish outfit will help his players achieve that aim in future years.

Hibs' bid to overcome the odds this year will be boosted by skipper Rob Jones, who is available for tomorrow's match at the Boras Arena after recovering from the ankle injury which saw him miss the second half against the Swedes at Easter Road last weekend.

While accepting that his aim of finishing the coming season by clinching a place in the UEFA Cup is a bold one, the Hibs manager insisted it was a realistic target for his squad.

Having taken over from John Collins when Hibs were languishing eighth in the SPL table, Paatelainen steered his side into a three-way battle for third place, and UEFA Cup action, only to see his players slip into sixth place.

But, given that experience, he firmly believes his squad, which he aims to further strengthen over the coming weeks, is more than capable of doing much better.

As he checked in at Edinburgh Airport with a full squad en route to Sweden for tomorrow's second leg tie, Paatelainen said: "Is the UEFA Cup our target? Absolutely. We are a big club and I think we should be challenging for a European place every year. We want to do better than sixth and if we do that we won't be far from a place in the UEFA Cup.

"Our target is to do as well as possible and I feel with the tremendous backing of our supporters and the traditions of this club we should challenge for a UEFA Cup spot at least."

And Paatelainen insisted it was to that end he'd agreed Hibs' entry to the InterToto Cup despite the necessity of his players returning early for pre-season training.

He said: "Gaining European experience was one reason for entering. European football is totally, totally different to the SPL. Every country has their own style, their own mentality and approach to the game.

"People who say it's just 11 against 11, that it's just the same game of football, but they wouldn't say that if they'd taken part in such matches.

"These games against Elfsborg will provide invaluable experience for our players, most of whom have never played in Europe, and that's why I'll be making changes for tomorrow's game, to give as many of them as possible that opportunity."

Paatelainen, who insisted Hibs will "go for it" as they bid to get an early goal to unsettle the Swedes, is delighted with the news that Jones has been declared fit.

"Rob trained with the rest of the squad on Wednesday and there has been no reaction so he will be available.

"When the swelling went down on the ankle it wasn't as bad as we thought it might have been to start with."