It's time to stand tall against Elfs

HIBS goalkeeper Andy McNeil believes tomorrow's InterToto Cup clash will signal the start of a battle royal within the Easter Road squad for a place in boss Mixu Paatelainen's plans for the forthcoming SPL season.

Hostilities begin early for the Edinburgh club with the visit of Swedish outfit IF Elfsborg for a match which, while he is desperate to win, Paatelainen has insisted is also the start of his side's preparations for the opening league fixture against Kilmarnock on August 9.

McNeil shares Paatelainen's hopes that Hibs can progress not only into the next round of the InterToto but onward into the UEFA Cup itself, but he believes his manager will also be watching closely to see who is up for the fight ahead.

He said: "I don't think any of us can take anything for granted, there are some who are probably pencilled in, but I wouldn't say anyone's name is penned in at the moment.

"It is important you start right away wanting to show the manager what you are all about, that you want to improve from last season, progress and prove you are not happy just to sit back and say 'I did all right last year, I'll do all right this season'.

"With what the manager wants to achieve at this club he just won't stand for that attitude. It will be difficult but individually and collectively he'll want us to be doing the right things, the things he wants us to do to get results or at least show we are moving in the right direction."

Securing a place in the UEFA Cup at the end of the season, a goal which just eluded Hibs only a couple of months ago, is the obvious aim for Paatelainen's players and McNeil firmly believes the two-legged tie against Elfsborg, a side which played in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup last season, will allow him and his team-mates to judge just what they need to achieve that target.

He said: "I think the InterToto will be a great experience for us. If you look at our squad Zibi Malkowski is the oldest at 31 and Rob Jones is next at 28 which is unusual.

"So if we are looking to be playing UEFA Cup football every season then these matches will stand us in good stead.

"It will be difficult, Elfsborg have the sharpness and match fitness because they are midway through their season but we'll be going out to give it a go.

"I don't think we have anything to lose. We want to progress but if we don't it won't be the end of the world. We want to try to get among the European places in the league so this will give us a good indication of what we need to do to get there."

The prolonged SPL season helped reduce the rest period enjoyed by McNeil and his team-mates before they reported back to prepare for the InterToto Cup, the Scotland under-21 goalkeeper admitting everyone had found the going tough over the past fortnight.

He said: "I haven't really done a proper pre-season in three years. Last summer, I was with Scotland in Canada at the Under-20 World Cup finals and the previous year it was Poland for the Under-19 European Championships.

"Usually you'd have a four-week period, two weeks of working hard and then turning it down a bit as you start to play games. But we've had that condensed. We did a lot of running last week, it was a bit of a killer to be honest, really intense.

"We had two fitness tests on the first day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon which was pretty tough. But we haven't had much time to prepare for this game but because our break was shortened, I don't think anyone really lost much in the way of fitness."

Despite the lack of match practice, McNeil insisted Paatelainen's players are looking forward to getting back into action.

He said: "We are at home and we are ready for it.

"Make no mistake, we want to win. We want to try to get something to take over there next weekend, a couple of goals and a clean sheet would be nice as that would give them it all to do."

And McNeil insisted, having watched Euro 2008 unfold, that fortune can favour the brave. He said: "I'm not daft enough to think that, if we were playing Real Madrid, we'd go with three at the back, that would be stupid. We have obvious respect for Elfsborg and I'm sure that will be reciprocated by them but hopefully we can go out and get a good result rather than just sneak by.

"I found Euro 2008 very entertaining. Germany got the job done and got as far as the final but couldn't lift it in that last game. In every game Spain were entertaining. Even when Italy sat in against them they went for it, played the way and at the tempo they wanted to play and they played the game the way it should be played."

While McNeil admitted he watched the Euro 2008 matches with, naturally, a close eye on the array of top-class goalkeepers on display, he revealed he feels he's got a feel for the way Elfsborg might play from the displays of the Swedish national side.

He said: "Obviously the international manager will have different ideas to the club bosses but I think you can get an idea of what their league is like, the style of football they play so I felt it was important to watch what the Swedes were all about.

"In Euro 2008, Sweden defended well, got back into position and tried to hit on the counter-attack with quick players and good passing."

The European Championships also gave McNeil the opportunity to have a close look at Elfsborg midfield star Anders Svensson, a player he knows reasonably well from the time they were at Southampton together.

He said: "I was only 16 at the time so there wasn't much contact but I did train with the first team, there were reserve games and generally being around day-to-day. Anders was a good professional, a nice guy, technically very sound and with a good range of passing both long and short."

Svensson played in all three of Sweden's Euro 2008 matches, against Greece, Spain and Russia, and McNeil reckons the 31-year-old is still at the very top of his game.

He said: "Obviously I haven't seen much of him since he left Southampton but from what I saw from Sweden's games, he looks a better player.

"Anders is still playing at a fantastically high level. I thought Sweden were unlucky not to progress to the second round but the fact he is the main man for his country makes me believe he'll be the main man for his club."