Midfielder McBride says Hibs Euro clash not beyond them

McBride, however, did concede he and his team-mates will have to produce a performance as good as any in the club's proud 55-year European history while claiming that, if they fall short, then it won't be through any lack of effort on their part.

He said: "Of course it is a tall order but if any of us think it is beyond us then we might as well forget playing on Thursday night and hand the tie to Maribor.

"There's no point even starting the match unless we believe we can do it. Yes, it will be difficult but we have to try to get as many goals as possible and try to win the tie."

McBride accepted that Hibs' chances will have already been written off by most but, he insisted, Maribor hadn't seen the best of John Hughes' side saying: "It was a poor result, I don't think we performed anywhere near our max.

"We had a lot of possession but a few slack passes cost us dearly. The difference between the SPL and Europe is that in league matches you might get away with it, at this level you are punished.

"I think there is a tendency in this country that when one of our teams is drawn against a side in Europe that few of us have heard of to believe that they'll be relatively easy opposition.

"I'm sure there wouldn't have been many who'd heard of Maribor but they do have a record of being involved in either the Champions League or Europa League every season recently and that has allowed them to build up a fair amount of experience at this level.

"Slovenia were also at the World Cup in South Africa this summer while we weren't and that shows you that they must have plenty of good players despite the fact it's a smaller country than Scotland."

Trailing to a first-half strike from Jospi Ilicic, a 22-year-old signed on a free contract from a club in the Slovenian second division which is, for the main part, amateur, and playing only his third game for Maribor, Hibs found themselves all but down and out as Maribor scored twice in six minutes. Ilicic again was the player to put them to the sword, adding a second after David Wotherspoon had been dispossessed before the midfielder stole the ball off McBride himself to lay on the third for his skipper Marcos Tavares.

McBride said: "I think we could have lived with 1-0 or perhaps even 2-0 would have given us a real chance although it would be difficult but 3-0 makes it all the harder.

"I honestly believe there's still a twist or two to come.

"The one thing we didn't do over there was put them under any really sustained pressure. Liam Miller had that shot right on half-time and Edwin de Graaf had another one near the end of the game so it would be good to have a go at them, to ask them a few questions and see how they handle things."

McBride, however, agreed Hughes and his players will face something of a conundrum, desperate to score goals but also concious that one more for Maribor will most definitely mean disaster as it would leave Hibs needing five to progress.

But, recalling how Maribor won 3-2 away to Zurich in last season's Champions League only to crash 3-0 at home, McBride said: "We'll have to go for it but at the same time we'll have to play with cool heads,

"We can't simply go chasing the game against a side more than capable of hitting on the counter-attack.

"We'll have to show a degree of patience but, at the same time, we'll have to take the game to them as much as possible, to test their goalkeeper and defence by getting the crosses into the box."

Hibs have found hitting the back of the net difficult recently, the eight goals scored in their opening two pre-season matches against Dunfermline and Queen of the South having dried up to the extent they've managed just three in their last six games.

Or, to put it bluntly, they need to score as many in 90 minutes even to force the second leg of their Europa League third qualifying round into extra-time as they have in their last 540 minutes of football. Both Hughes and his assistant Brian Rice have declared that in Anthony Stokes, Derek Riordan and Colin Nish, who claimed more than 50 goals between them last season, they have sufficient firepower.

Although that threat hasn't been evident of late, a tame 1-0 defeat by English League One side Carlisle United on Sunday hardly giving the fans who travelled to Cumbria much hope before the big game, McBride agrees with the management team. But he also believes Thursday night could be set up for an unlikely hero. He said: "Of course, Stokesy, Deeks and Nishy have plenty of goals in them although we'll have to wait and see what formation the gaffer decides to go with.

"I'm sure Maribor will see them as the big threat but we've also got to look for others to pose them problems, particularly when we get free-kicks around their penalty area and corners.

"It's got to be a real team effort. Who knows, anyone of us could end up the hero on the night. It will be difficult, but we will give it our all."|

• A "bucket" collection will be taken before the match in aid of the Dnipro Appeal, the charity run by Hibs fans which supports orphanages in Ukraine.