Hibs kids back in lessons

MOST of Tony Mowbray's players are so young memories of their schooldays will still be pretty fresh in their minds.

But if they thought their days in the classroom were behind them, they've been forced to think again as the Hibs boss has conducted a series of master classes on tonight's UEFA Cup rivals, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Like the rest of us, Mowbray's squad knew little - if anything - about the Ukranian outfit but, as Kevin Thomson revealed today, by the time they run out to face a side which reached the final 32 of last season's competition there will be little they don't know about their opposition.

Mowbray and chief scout John Park made the 3600-mile round trip to Dnipro within days of the draw in Monaco pitching the two sides together and in the intervening period Hibs have built up a substantial dossier.

That has provided the basis for Hibs' preparations for tonight's match and if the tangible signs of Mowbray's thinking on how this first-round tie can be won has been the 4-5-1 formation used to great effect against Rangers and Dundee United, Thomson lifted the lid on the meticulous planning which has taken place over the past few days.

He said: "I think if you look through the UEFA Cup you will see a lot of teams you don't really know a lot about.

"This week training has been short and sharp with a lot of time spent studying Dnipro, their formations, systems and players.

"I don't think I've ever seen so much explained. We watched a video on Monday which the gaffer kept starting and stopping, showing us their strengths and weaknesses.

"He also had a big binder in which were all their moves, their key players, what they do, how they attack, how they defend and so on. There was a lot of information to take in but the gaffer has certainly done his homework."

Now it will be up to Thomson and his team-mates to apply what they have been taught, not only over the 90 minutes tonight but the return leg in the Ukraine in a fortnight's time with the hope being, of course, that Hibs will have a lead of some sorts to take with them.

Thomson said: "Dnipro's results in the UEFA Cup last season speak volumes for them, they won their group stage against sides such as Club Brugge, Zaragoza and Utrecht so they will be no pushovers by any means.

"The fact