Malta the first stop on road to Madrid

As his side prepared to play the first game of the new European club season, Hibernians FC coach Mark Miller told uefa.com about the secret of his success in Maltese football.

Preparation and luck
Hibernians meet Montenegrin champions FK Mogren in their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie this evening and Miller knows his side have to be on their game. "For me, it boils down to one thing: if you do not prepare well then you do not stand a chance," the 46-year-old told uefa.com. "I do think qualification is possible if we're prepared, but that little thing called luck also plays its part."

Continental success
Miller has helped Maltese teams progress from the first qualifying round in continental competition before, guiding Floriana FC past FK Ekranas in the 1993/94 UEFA Champions League and then overcoming Aberyswyth Town FC in the UEFA Intertoto Cup six years later. If those were memorable triumphs it was his third success, with Sliema Wanderers FC, that he recalls with the most pride. "It was in the UEFA Cup and we lost 3-1 in Malta against FC Margveti Zestafoni then beat them 3-0 on their home soil," he added. "What a game that was – it remains one of the highlights of my career both as a player (I played for 30 minutes) and as a coach."

Big impact
Regarded as one of the most professional and passionate coaches on the island, the Englishman arrived in Malta as a player in the early 1980s signing for Rabat Ajax FC. He made a big impact, helping the Magpies to their first title in 1986 and then won the double the following season. Now head coach at Hibernians, he lifted the title in his first campaign in charge – pipping Valletta on the last day of the season. "We never expected the title because there were three or four good teams in contention," Miller added. "My team were the surprise package but I began to feel we stood a good chance as time went on."

Team spirit
On the secret of his side's achievement, Miller said: "The main ingredient of our success was team spirit, but if you do not get results you lose confidence which hurts that team spirit. These things become easier when you are winning. There's no real magic formula. It's about knowing your players well and getting the best out of them plus a bit of luck."

Satisfaction
Last week the Paolites claimed their first silverware of their nascent season when they won Malta's annual Euro Cup tournament – featuring the four sides from the country playing on the continent this season – and Miller believes those games will provide decent preparation for the Mogren tie even though his side started training later than usual. "I hope that during this brief time frame my players will have developed the fitness to compete. I have to plan for the whole season and not just two European games." However, Miller does see the UEFA Champions League matches as another chance to create a career highlight. "If I didn't believe we could qualify, then I wouldn't be coaching and I know how it feels when the underdogs win. There is nothing more satisfying in life than those special moments."