Asteras Tripolis are favourites against Hibs, says Neil Lennon
The Greek side head to Easter Road on Thursday night for the first leg of the Euro double header
Neil Lennon says Asteras Tripolis are favourites ahead of their Europa League qualifier with Hibs.
The teams meet in second round qualifying of the Europa League at Easter Road on Thursday with the Greek side boasting a superior record in Europe in recent years.
Tripolis reached the group stages in the 2014-15 and the 2015-16 seasons and Lennon feels this experience could be crucial over the two legs - with Hibs not having made it into the first round proper since 2005.
"They have a bit of pedigree in this tournament in terms of playing in the group stages,'' he said. "They have done (qualified) two or three times in the last four or five years so they area good team and finished the season strongly as we did.
"They are a big squad but are tactically very well set up and are a smart team.
"It's a very difficult tie for us.''
When asked if the Tripoli side were favourites, he replied: "I would imagine so.
"We have very little pedigree at this level. We had the two games against Brondby (in 2016) which were an excellent starting point from my point of view in terms of taking the job on.
"I would say they have a lot more experience than us at his level, however it's their first competitive game and any advantage we can take, we should try and maximise."
He added: "They put a lot of emphasis on European campaigns, so tactically will be smart and streetwise its a really good test for us."
One of the sideshows to Hibs' early-season progress - which included a 12-5 aggregate win over Faroese side NSI Runavik - has been the future of John McGinn, with the Scotland international subject to bids from Celtic.
McGinn missed the first-leg win over Runavik but made a goalscoring return last week before another bid was turned down by Hibs chiefs, and Lennon admitted the ongoing speculation had not been ideal for his star midfielder.
"Not for me, maybe a bit for John,'' he said. "(There has been) a lot of speculation and stories, but he is playing and until both clubs reach an agreement we will utilise John as best we can and I have to manage him as well as I can.
"He is a human being at the end of the day and has emotions.
"It can be a bit unsettling but I have been in that situation myself as a player so I know what he is going through."
Striker Simon Murray departed the club earlier this week, leaving Hibs short on attacking options - something they are looking to address.
"It is slow at the minute and still early, we are closing in on one or two players,'' Lennon said of their transfer business.
"Hopefully we will have a few new faces in but there is no timescale on that."