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Owen Elding following Hibs Euro pathway to bigger dreams as he reckons striking trio can wreak havoc Elding has had a taste of the Republic of Ireland set up despite passport problems and hopes Europa League run can give him another Hibs striker Owen Edling is hoping Europe can be his pathway to the international stage. Elding got a taste of the Republic of Ireland set-up during the summer after training with the squad in preparation for friendlies against Qatar and Canada. The 20-year-old, who was born in England but moved to Ireland as a kid after his dad signed for Sligo Rovers, was unable to play in those games after a delay in getting his Irish passport. But Elding - who joined Hibs in January from Sligo - is ready to make the switch to his adopted country and hopes starring in the Conference League will help his bid. Eldling, who is planning to help David Gray 's side overcome Shkendija in tonight’s third qualifying first leg in Leith, said: “Getting that experience in the first-team international set-up is massive. “Just being around the boys for the camp, I obviously wasn't able to play the games but I was able to get that taste and see what it's like and it's something I want to be a part of. “Performing in Europe is massive for that. The biggest stage you can play in club football is the European stage. “Everyone dreams as a kid to play in those competitions and Thursday’s the next step towards where we want to be.” Confirming his national switch has been anything but straight forward with the youngster having to negotiate red tape to get his hands on his passport. He added: “The passport situation has been going on for so long now but it's coming to the end of that now. “I was due to have the citizenship ceremony at the start of the year but it was cancelled. So then that was delayed. “It was all just put back so much. We eventually got that done so we're at the end of it now.” Elding is hoping he can impress to make sure he is in boss Heimir Hallgrímsson's plans ahead of next month’s Nations League double header against Kosovo and Israel. He added: “It's only what I do with club football that will determine if I'm in those squads or not. “I need to put in a good performance and keep pushing on. “In the summer the manager just told me to go in and be me. “Obviously I couldn't play the game for obvious reasons but it was just a chance for me to go in and show the staff and everyone what I could do.” Elding scored three goals during the second half of last season and got off the mark for this campaign in last week’s second leg 4-1 thrashing of Malisheva. And the marksman admits his game has already come on leaps and bounds since making the move seven months ago. He added: “I think it's worked out well. I wanted to come in and play first-team football straight away and I've done that. “I just want to keep progressing every week and hopefully keep on pushing. “David and the staff have obviously kicked me on loads in such a short space of time, so I feel like I'm only going to get better. “You learn so much from the likes of Martin Boyle too. He's been here so long and a legend at the club. “He's still flying and still scoring goals in Europe. "Everyone at the front line is chipping in with goals and that's all you can ask for really.” Elding is part of a front three that includes Nathan Lowe as well as Boyle and he reckons the trio can wreak havoc this term. He added: “I think we're getting better all the time. "Obviously playing away in Kosovo (against Malisheva) I think it was the first time we played together and it kind of showed a little bit. “Then coming back to Easter Road we looked completely different. “We really dominated the game and created loads of chances and all three of us got goals as well. “It's a good competition and I think we're understanding each other nicely now.” David Gray has told his Hibs players they will need to deliver a complete performance if they are to see off Shkendija. The Leith side host the North Macedonian’s in tonight’s Conference League third qualifying first leg tonight before going on their travels for the return leg next week. Gray has already warned they face a big step up in quality from the clash with Malisheva of Kosovo in the last round - with Shkendija progressing out of the group section of the competition last season. And Gray insists his team needs to be on point at both ends of the park. He said: “It's going to take a complete performance over two legs. "It will be a difficult test, I've done a lot of work on them already. “I showed the players exactly what we're going to be going into and how we're going to approach the game. “It’s a difficult one, it’s a team that's used to playing in Europe for the last few seasons and were successful last season when you look at what they've done. “But this is what it's all about for the players. “Some of the opposition we played against in Europe lat season took massive performances. “When you think about the ties we had, those were some of the best performances I've seen from us and they're great nights to be involved in. “And that's what it's all about. “Can you be the first team to get into that European group stage, which is the target and has been since day one. “At this moment in time, we're on course to do that but it's going to take two big performances.” Gray knows his team will also need to be more ruthless in attack after letting Motherwell off the hook in last Sunday’s opening day league defeat. He added: “Doing it in training is one thing, you can coach it as much as you want and keep practising it. “It's that calmness in the last action with what you're doing. “The players are very capable of doing it, we've seen it already. "It's that last action and just being as calm and composed as you can and not panicking.”