Lee Johnson issues Hibs Conference League warning as players told Andorra clash 'not a given' in Dundee United reminder

Lee Johnson has warned Hibs face a triple threat in their Europa Conference League opener in the mountains of Andorra on Thursday night.

The Easter Road outfit are on the road in the second qualifying round against Inter Club d’Escaldes and hope to bring back a lead for the second-leg in the capital on August 3. They are heavy favourites but Johnson insists his side have a job on their hands to get past the part-timers to set up a third round qualifier against either Djurgardens of Sweden or Swiss side Luzern.

The Hibs boss travelled to the Faroe Islands to watch Inter see off Vikingur with a 3-2 aggregate victory and saw enough to be wary of the dangers posed by the Andorrans. He said: “It was interesting to see them. It’s not a given, this game. They’re strong, physically strong, very competitive, they’re together, they’re well coached, they’re direct.

“They’re used to having the ball, but we’ll end up having the ball. They’re very compact and difficult to break down. We need to score the first goal. The first goal is important to bring them out and then potentially we can score again. But they waste time well, with the greatest respect, or game-management should I say.

“It’ll be a good game, I’m looking forward to it. There’s three things that are probably the main focus for me: the size of the pitch, which is small and tight; it’s the altitude; and then it’s obviously dealing with the heat.

“Those are the three things that we’ve got to get in our minds. Those three factors are going to be tough. But then it’s just a normal game of football and we’ve got to do our best to dominate.”

Hibs saw off Andorran opposition the last time they were in Europe in 2021, following up a 3-0 win over Santa Coloma at Easter Road