Lewis says his last Euro match seems an age ago as Hibs head for Slovenia test

As it turned out, the Ukrainian outfit proved too strong for Mowbray's youngsters, the hopes raised when Derek Riordan cancelled out an early goal for the home side cruelly dashed as Dnipro ran out 5-1 winners, two late strikes simply twisting the knife.

Stevenson, though, was able to take some comfort from the belief that he'd soon be tasting European action for himself, convinced he'd be doing so every season.

Today, however, Stevenson's long wait for that chance is finally drawing to a close with the first leg of the third qualifying round tie with Slovenian side NK Maribor on Thursday night, the Easter Road club's first adventure at such a level since that evening in 2005.

The UEFA Cup has, of course, been rebranded as the Europa League, but even so Stevenson admitted struggling to comprehend the five-year gap.

He said: "I was just a kid away back then, and although I made the squad I knew I was really just there for the experience, to get a wee taste of it.

"Kevin MacDonald and I sat in the stand soaking up the atmosphere and, being so young, we were probably pretty blase about it all. It was so early in our careers I think we just thought we'd be getting those sort of matches every year, so it's hard to take in that Dnipro was so long ago."

Even so, Dnipro provided a cruel lesson as to the fickleness of European football, Stevenson recalling how both Scott Brown and Ivan Sproule had struck the post in the first leg. He said: "Who can say how it might have ended had we gone there 2-0 up? It would certainly have made it a totally different game but, having said that, they were a very good side.

"What I do remember is the way Ivan was treated like a god when we arrived there. He'd had a really good game at Easter Road and as he got into the airport terminal all the cameras were clicking away in his face.

"Again, as a youngster experiencing all that for the first time it was hard to take in, all sorts of things were going through your head. There was even talk of a 1 million bid for him from Dnipro, it was incredible."

Stevenson has, of course, had further European experience in the interim, the final 20 minutes against OB Odense of Denmark the following season and, two years later, a mere six minutes away to the Swedish club IF Elfsborg, Hibs crashing out of the Inter Toto Cup on each occasion.

Joking that those 26 minutes make him a "veteran" of such occasions, Stevenson admitted, however, that the Inter Toto Cup simply didn't have the same cachet as the Europa League, saying: "I think there is a big difference when you see the sides involved."

However, having said that, Stevenson conceded few would have heard of NK Maribor before the draw in Nyon nearly a fortnight ago, a trip to Slovenia a first for Hibs although they did meet Hajduk Split of the old Yugoslavia nearly 40 years ago, losing 5-4 on aggregate in the Cup-Winners Cup, again no longer with us, after winning the first leg in Edinburgh 4-2.

Stevenson, though, can boast of some knowledge of what lies ahead as he and his team-mates fly out from Edinburgh Airport tomorrow having been part of the Scotland side which enjoyed a 4-0 win over Slovenia in a European Under-21 Championship qualifying round, one of eight caps he won at that level.

He said: "It's a nice country. When I first heard of Slovenia I thought it was a real East European country but it's not that far from Italy. It would be nice to get a repeat of that scoreline on Thursday although that's obviously a bit of fantasy football thinking on my part."

Stevenson admitted he doesn't recognise any of the names in the NK Maribor squad, something which will be remedied as boss John Hughes and his assistant Brian Rice, who has watched Thursday night's opponents twice in four days, brief their players as to what to expect in the Stadion Ljudski, but he revealed he'll be looking to see if there are any familiar faces in the Maribor line-up.

He said: "I recall one of Slovenia's Under-21s was playing in Italy at the time but you tend not to remember names but faces.

"In our first match in Holland Paul Hanlon and David Wotherspoon spotted one of the Heracles players they'd played against for Scotland's Under-19s so I'll have a wee look to see if there's anyone I recognise; whether they'll remember me I don't know - the haircut has changed a bit since then."

Stevenson agreed it had seemed a long wait since Hibs finally clinched their place in Europe, a 2-0 win against Dundee United on the final day of the SPL season securing fourth spot but now, following ten days in Holland, Thursday's tie has suddenly loomed large on the horizon.

He said: "It seems such a long, long time since that day at Tannadice, we seem to have been talking about it for months, but now the excitement is really building.

"It's the reward for all our hard work last season, something I feel we did deserve even if we lost our way a bit towards the end. As they say, the league table doesn't lie so we are here on merit. We did a lot of hard work before going to Holland and a lot more over there plus those four matches against very good teams, working on how we want to play, different formations, everyone getting a taste of it and now we can't wait to get started.

Stevenson conceded that Maribor, having had those two Europa League matches against Hungarian side Videoton in the previous round plus two league matches, may have the edge in terms of competitive action but insisted that will count for little.

He said: "We'll be going into the game fresh and we'll be going for it. I think it will help us being away from home first, if we can come back with a good result then it will only be ours to lose at Easter Road.

"Obviously the target is to get into the next round, there's no point in putting in all the work we did to qualify for Europe if you are not intent in staying in for as long as possible.

"First things first, of course, with all our focus on Thursday but it would be brilliant for the club if we could make the group stages, Aberdeen did so a couple of years ago so it would be great if we could do the same."

To that end Stevenson acknowledged the Champions League experience midfield ace Liam Miller gained with Celtic and Manchester United will be invaluable as will that of Dutch signing Edwin de Graaf who skippered NAC Breda in six Europa League matches last season, scoring five goals in the process.

But, he insisted, every player chosen by Hughes will need to play his part. He said: "If you have any aspirations for your career then you want to play in Europe.

"A few of us have experienced, either at club level or with our international sides at varying age groups, different countries, different cultures, different styles of football.

"It's what you strive for at the start of each season and we plan to make the most of this opportunity."