James Jeggo felt the joy and the anguish of the Austrian Bundesliga split in just two years with Austria Vienna.
So the Hibs midfielder knows better than most exactly what’s at stake when he runs out at McDiarmid Park this afternoon. Jeggo insists the pressure makes him tick as he chases a Euro dream and it begins against St Johnstone where victory would guarantee Lee Johnson's side a crack at making it back into continental competition.
The 31-year-old has unfinished business in that regard having qualified four times but failed to make it to the group stages - something he’d love to rectify with Hibs. Four years ago he was celebrating as Austria Vienna secured a top six finish by a single point in the first ever season of the split thus ensuring a spot in the Europa League qualifiers. A year later Die Veilchen finished seventh, four points adrift of the top half.
The Australia international said: “We know exactly what we need to do. It’s in our hands which is the best position so we just need to go and get the job done. I love it. That’s what is so special about being at a club like Hibs, there’s so many big games and expectation which creates that pressure.
“It’s something I really enjoy as a player. There’s so many big clubs in this league, a lot who expect to be in the top six and have that expectation, that adds to the intensity of it.
“With Austria Vienna the first year we were relatively comfortable but the second year it went to the wire and we missed out. For clubs expected to qualify for Europe it can really ramp the pressure up earlier in the season than normal. But that’s something that’s part and parcel of being at clubs like that. It definitely makes the league more exciting.”
Jeggo has four years’ worth of European competition stamped on his far-travelled footballing passport. But the Hibs midfielder admits he’s sick of always stopping short of a proper journey into the group stages of one of the three UEFA trophies.
In spells with Sturm Graz, Austria Vienna and Greek side Aris he faced Fenerbahce, Apollon Limassol and Astana but lost to them all. He said: “I managed to play in a lot of qualifiers but never got to a group stage. That’s something I want to do - have that campaign in my career.
“It’s certainly a very different experience as you can be going to places that are roasting hot in the summer and atmospheres are completely different. Coming up against different types of teams.
“It can really challenge you as a player and a team and those are the types of things that help us grow. For this group of players it’s something we are desperate to experience and hopefully we can, it will help us keep moving in the direction we want.
“Fenerbahce was unbelievable. One of the best atmospheres I’ve played in and we were really unlucky not to go through. Those are the experiences and occasions European football gives you and that’s why the desire to get there is so high.”
Red hot Euro cauldrons might be one thing but Jeggo didn’t have to travel far for his best experience of a Scottish atmosphere so far last week. The scenes that followed Hibs’ derby victory over Hearts will live long in his memory.
He said: “It was unbelievable. The buzz was still there a few days later.
“To hear Sunshine on Leith was something we were desperate to do for the fans and the club. But also what it meant for our season. Not getting a result would have put us in real trouble.
“We want more moments like that. They are special and the this club can give you them providing you do the business. The first step is getting a result this weekend.”
READ NEXT
