Jimmy Jeggo is hopeful the draw is kind to Hibernian as they await their Europa Conference League fate today.
The Easter Road side will find out their second qualifying round opponents this afternoon ahead of the ties on July 27 and August 3.
The capital outfit will be the first of Scotland’s representatives in action in the tournament, with city rivals Hearts entering a round later at the third qualifying round stage.
Should Aberdeen lose their Europa League play-off they will drop into the Conference League groups.
Hibs will be seeded for the second round qualifiers and will avoid teams such as Club Brugge, Basel, Fenerbahçe and Bodø/Glimt, but the likes of Hammarby, Luzern, AGF and Levski Sofia are all possibilities ahead of the pre-draw groupings this morning.
Jeggo has played in European football previously with Sturm Graz, Austria Vienna and Aris, and knows from experience the pitfalls that await Hibs on the continent.
He said: “You have take each tie as it comes. Even in the earlier rounds when you’re seeded there can still be some very difficult games.
“You’re also dealing with a lot of different circumstances. Sometimes you’re playing against teams who are in a different part of their season or from a different climate, and even just a different style of football can be something a lot of us aren’t used to.
“There’s all these different things. It’s never easy.
“We just need to take it tie by tie. The aim is obviously to get as far as we can and to try to get group-stage football.
“But the first tie is going to be challenging, so we just have to take it as it comes and see what happens in the draw, and make sure we get a good pre-season under our belts so we’re ready to go.”
Hibs return to training on Thursday and Jeggo admits the lure of European football will act as an extra motivation during the hard slog of the preparations for the new campaign.
Lee Johnson’s side will have completed their second round qualifiers by the time the cinch Premiership kicks off on the weekend of August 5.
He added: “As players, Europe is something that really excites you. It’s where you want to be.
“You know pre-season is tough as a player but you need to get as much out of it as you can to get yourself ready for the season.
“We know we’re going to have big games coming very early, and very important games.
“It’s going to be a big time for the club, in terms of recruitment and all those things as well.
“And it’s up to us as players and as a group to make sure we’re 100 per cent ready to go for those games.”
