Pat Fenlon wants his players to lift Hibs fans following the death of Easter Road great Lawrie Reilly when Malmo visit on Thursday. The club will hold a minute's applause before the second qualifying round second leg in memory of Reilly, who scored 238 goals for Hibs and helped them to three league titles in the early post-war period. It would perhaps be more appropriate for the applause to be held in the last minute in memory of the great man's nickname of 'Last Minute Reilly'. There will be further tributes to the former Scotland centre-forward, who scored five goals in Wembley clashes with England, when Motherwell come to call to open the Scottish Premiership season. Fenlon wants his players to rise to the occasion and pay their own tribute to Reilly, who led the club's 'Famous Five' forward line, as they bid to overturn a 2-0 deficit against the Swedish league leaders.
Lawrie Reilly (c) Ger Harley | SportPix.org.uk Fenlon said: "It's been a very sad and difficult week for everyone associated with the club. He was obviously one of the best players the club has ever had. If you're looking for a true Hibs man through and through, he fits the bill. I met him a couple of times around the ground on match day. He was a gentleman as well as being a very, very good footballer. It would be a nice way to pay real tribute to his memory if we can go and win the game. It would be lovely to put a smile back on people's faces. We're hoping we can do it justice. We've got a tough task but we are playing at home and we're looking forward to a big crowd getting behind us here. If we can nick the first goal, let's see what happens."Hibs captain James McPake is aiming to take inspiration from the life of Reilly, who scored 22 goals in 38 internationals. McPake said: "I had the pleasure of being in his company at a good few events through the club. The last time I met him was April and even then he was in good form, he was joking away. We had lost to St Johnstone the night before and he was having a bit of a go at me for the way we had played. That was Lawrie, he was great to everyone and we were all glad when he was round the place. We were all deeply saddened by the news at the start of the week. But it's spurring us on a bit because we want to go out and do it for him and his family. He was such a legend and such a hero to so many of the people that come here. The fans will be here paying tribute to Lawrie and that's only going to help us with emotion and the atmosphere. It's something we have got to react to and use."Source: ScottishFitba
Source: FOOTYMAD
