IAN MURRAY'S disappointment at missing out on a UEFA Cup place was compounded by the knowledge that the most important match of his life had also been thrown into disarray.
The Easter Road side narrowly missed out on automatic qualification for the UEFA Cup this season through league placings and instead will try to win entry to the competition through the InterToto Cup. That means an early return to training for the Hi
bs players, who will have just four weeks break before meeting up at East Mains for a short pre-season ahead of their second-round tie.
But for Murray the early kick-off to the Easter Road side's campaign has scuppered his plans to enjoy a relaxing honeymoon with his new wife.
Murray will marry childhood sweetheart Julie on June 14, but the pair won't have much time for a well-earned break because the Hibs players will have to report for pre-season just a week later.
That gives the player and his fiancée just a week together after their big day and the 26-year-old admitted: "It's not ideal timing! It's all quite tight because there is a lot to fit in, especially after the wedding. We haven't booked a honeymoon yet and at the minute it looks like we might try to get away for a few days and then have a proper holiday next year.
"We thought that we would be okay having the wedding at that time of the year because there are not usually very many games but that's just the way that it works out sometimes. Obviously it's not been very popular with Julie but we'll just get on with it and look forward to doing something nice this time next year."
The prospect of going without a honeymoon aside, Murray concedes that everyone at Easter Road has been feeling the disappointment of missing out on the UEFA Cup following last weekend's sequence of results.
Mark McGhee's Motherwell will take up Scotland's remaining place in the competition following their victory over Aberdeen, a result which, combined with Hibs' defeat at Parkhead, secured them third place in the SPL.
However, the defender's disappointment has been tempered by the fact that the InterToto gives teams a real chance of progressing to the UEFA qualifiers, with 11 places now up for grabs. The InterToto will be discontinued from the end of next season, with the teams who would have played in the competition instead making it directly into the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.
And Murray added: "Obviously we would have preferred to have been playing UEFA Cup football but we always knew that there was a chance that it would be the InterToto.
"At least now we know which competition we will be playing in and we can focus on that because it looks like we will probably have to go to Sweden to play Elfsborg (who face FVB Torshavn of the Faroe Islands in the first round]. The Scandinavians are traditionally hard to beat and they will be sharp as well because they will be part-way through their season.
"It's something for all of the players to look forward to and I think that the competition has a lot more fans now because of the fact that you can qualify for the UEFA Cup after just a couple of games, so it could work out for us. We will certainly give it everything we've got and see how far we can go in the competition."
The defender may have the InterToto matches to look forward to come the beginning of next season but he knows that he will miss the final game of this season – against Motherwell next Thursday – and the first game of the new campaign thanks to the straight red card he picked up at Parkhead on Sunday.
Murray was sent off in the dying seconds of the 2-0 defeat to Celtic at the weekend for a late challenge on winger Aiden McGeady and as a result picked up a two-match suspension which will carry over into the start of next season. The former Rangers and Norwich player is hoping, though, that he can do enough in the InterToto games to convince boss Mixu Paatelainen to throw him straight back into the mix for the second fixture. "I already know that I'm going to be out of the first league game at the start of the season and obviously that is a massive disappointment for me because I'm not long back at the club and I want to be playing as much football as I can.
"The fact that we are in the InterToto Cup means that I have got something to look forward to, something to work towards in pre-season training. I might be out of the first game of the season but I'm hoping that I can do enough to show the manager that I am worth a place in the team for the second game of the season instead."
He may be ruled out, but Murray is hoping that his side can earn a victory in their final game of the season. The match will be played in front of Hibs' home supporters and Murray would love for the fans to be able to finish the season on some kind of high. With league placings, of course, come financial rewards and Murray appreciates the importance of ending the term as high up the table as possible.
He added: "We've still got one league game to go and it's important for us that we sign off with a victory, both for the players and for the supporters.
"It's a good chance for us to thank them for all the support they have given us over the course of the season. There have been a few ups and downs this season for them but they have given us their backing right the way through and it would be nice to end with a victory.
"I can't play because I am suspended but the manager has emphasised that he wants us to finish the season as high up the table as possible and the players will go out and do everything they can to make sure that happens.
"Obviously there are financial implications with the final league positions and the higher up the table we are, then maybe the manager will have more to spend when the transfer window opens."
The full article contains 1086 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
