Hibs boss Lee Johnson understands concerns of Tam McManus as he sets out rationale behind each loan signing

Hibs manager Lee Johnson agrees with the concerns of ex-Easter Road striker Tam McManus with regards to the club’s young players but believes context needs to be applied to criticism of the loan signings.

The pundit and former Hibs TV commentator expressed his views in a column earlier this week that Hibs were being detrimental to their burgeoning talents by signing too many players on a temporary deals from other clubs.

Johnson, a big proponent of developing young players, not only technically but mentally, believes that a club should be using its rising stars to compliment the first-team. He did, however, explain the thinking behind each transfer and why it was best to go with experience in each instance.

“I think he's right in terms of the big picture. Of course, you'd much rather a youth player coming through, rather than take a loan. But I think there's context to each individual loan you end up going to. Sometimes the public know the context and sometimes they don't,” the Easter Road boss said.

Former Hibs striker Tam McManus felt the club had too many loan signings. Picture: SNS

“We've got Elie Youan. That one has the potential to be converted, so it becomes a kind of 'try before you buy'. I like them, if I'm honest. Because you either lay out a fortune and realise they're not good enough, or you do the 'try before you buy' where you get to see the person and personality more. Momodou Bojang is another one of those.

“We've also go Mykola Kurachevich, which isn't a 'try before you buy' but I think is a brilliant loan. It gives us something different which we couldn't get or couldn't afford someone of that stature. And that's an important thing about this loan. If you get a ‘loan’ loan, they have to be better than what you've got in the building and what you can develop.

“With Will Fish, I think if you look at Ryan Porteous' situation... I always want four centre-halves. We've got some good centre-backs coming through. Jacob Blaney has done very well coming through. But I think that frame of a 6ft 4in defender that we've had our eye on for a while, given the fact there's always a risk of losing Porteous, is a dynamic. My teams have always been stronger when I've had good back-ups at centre-back.”

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