It’s safe to say that the preparation for our league cup semi-final against Hibernian has been far from perfect, not only have we lost our manager, but we’ve lost an entire coaching staff – a management team that had said they were going to arrange a friendly fixture during the international break to get the likes of Ryan Kent and Ryan Jack more game time ahead of such a big test, but didn’t.
When Ross Wilson arrived, there were already plans in place to make the transition from academy to the first team easier by developing a “one club” culture whereby each age group played the same system with training designed towards it’s implementation – Michael Beale may have left but his legacy through the coaches that remain, will still be in tact.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is expected to be in attendance but not in charge due to work permit regulations, however, after arriving in the country on Friday, there is every chance that he will have had some influence on the team, although I’d doubt that this would involve team selection.
I’d expect Brian Gilmour and David McCallum to lean on Jermain Defoe and come up with a line up that has served us well in recent weeks:
There is one massive decision that needs to be made and it will affect the rest of the selection – Alfredo Morelos or Fashion Sakala?
They each have their own and very different strengths but, if Ianis Hagi is picked alongside Ryan Kent to support the attack, I think we have to go with Sakala purely for the pace that could cause the Hibs defence problems. We saw against Motherwell and Ross County how much of a threat he can be running the channels and playing off the last defender, however, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see the Zambian international in a wider position to allow us to play both, keeping Hagi as an option off the bench – it’s a tough call to make.
Midfield, I think, almost picks itself. John Lundstram and Juninho Bacuna have shown what they are capable of recently but the trio of Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Joe Aribo is tried and tested and offers a good balance in defence and attack, again though, it’s good to have other options if fresh legs are needed.
Calvin Bassey has impressed in recent games but I’d be surprised if Borna Barsic isn’t recalled to the starting XI, his superior defensive ability and his big game experience giving him the edge, the rest of the defence picks itself.
No semi-final is ever easy, this Hibs side has plenty of danger-men in their team and, regardless of their current form, they will be bang up for this, we need a good start and need to control the tempo if we are t start the new manager’s reign in the best possible way.