Exclusive:Future Hibs stars title secrets revealed as gaffer talks targets, belief - and winding up Rangers fans!

Short-term targets, long-held ambitions, massive performances from big-game players. And, as you might expect given the age of those involved, maybe just the odd dash of daft boyishness when it came time to show off the silverware?

As he reflects on a season of success for the Hibs under-18s, whose achievement in winning the Club Academy Scotland league title should not be underestimated, head coach Darren McGregor positively bristles with excitement. He can also see the funny side of THAT Easter Road lap of honour that left a famously temperate and generous away support voicing their mild displeasure …

Revealing how he’d borrowed a psychological tactic from former Hibs boss Jack Ross to keep his youngsters on track over the course of a gruelling campaign, the former Scottish Cup winner, a fan favourite about to be rewarded for his long service with a testimonial against Bolton Wanderers, said: “I set the boys a challenge at the start of the season and asked them if they could win the league. They all agreed, they all bought into it, so I said: ‘Well what does winning the league look like to us?

“We used Aberdeen the previous year as a reference point and how many points did they get? So they got X amount of points, I think it might have been 67. Do we think they can better that this season? They said yes, so that's a reference point then, better than 67 points.

“We broke the 67 points down throughout the season into smaller, sort of mini-goals if you like, and we reassessed it every six weeks. The boys had planned out the six weeks in front of them and how they thought the games would go in terms of goals scored, goals conceded, so it was open and honest.

“Some of the times I said: ‘I think that might be a defeat there or I think that might be a draw.’ There was nothing wrong with that.

“You might think that's accepting defeat. But it actually worked in the reverse because we hit every single target, best goals for in the league, best defensive record against and then obviously we eclipsed the points total that we set out to do.

“So that was the most pleasing thing - that we actually managed to win the league, but also we exceeded our expectations in terms of that challenge we set ourselves. Obviously a by-product of that is winning the league and getting a wee shot at Europe, but also the development of every single player.

Adding more detail to the grand plan to break the season down into more manageable chunks, McGregor revealed: “Jack Ross did it with us once. Listen, if you speak to a lot of football guys it's probably a common theme, but I just really liked it because it got everybody together in the room, it got everybody talking.

“And you divide the groups, so if there's 16 we'll maybe put lads in fours and we'll have them off into different rooms and I'll put a coach in each room just to monitor them. Not really to give much input, just to allow them to discuss it and allow them to discuss the challenges.

“So they could sit and say: ‘Well, Aberdeen's a really difficult place to go or Murray Park's a really difficult place to go, what happened the last time …’ So I just think they get to reflect on previous times and then they also get to speak to each other about what they think this next game might entail.

“It definitely worked a treat. The lads enjoyed it, and it was good to get a catch up and to re-assess the previous, whether it was four weeks or six weeks before it and then plan the following four to six weeks.”

Lap of honour included pantomime celebrations in front of away punters

Simply declaring their intent to go and win the league felt like a leap of faith by the Hibs coaching staff. In an environment where the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers effectively have their pick of the talent, or at least those not lured south by Premier League clubs stocking their academies, why did McGregor believe it was even possible?

“You look at the group, you look at the individuals you have within the group, you look at obviously the facilities and the coaching staff and the people at Hibs,” he said, adding: “You always think you've got a real good chance to be honest.

“And this year's been such a good culture about the club, the first team, the women's team, obviously all working together in the same building, I just think that's really sort of built a togetherness. I think the lads have thrived off that.

“And the fact that we do try and treat them like adults as well. I mean we enforce certain rules and regulations on what to do when they're in the building, but we do sometimes give them a wee bit of leeway as well because at the end of the day they're on the cusp of adulthood.

“So they respect us, we respect them and it's reciprocal, giving them that wee bit of freedom. And there's some really good players in that group.

“Every single one of them wants to work hard, every single one of them wants to become a football player. Nobody's in pretending to be a football player and just wasting the days away.

“If you look at their testing results when they first came in, whether that be from a physical point of view or even a technical point of view, every single one of them is getting better and improving. They feed off that, they look at that and they see other lads improving and then they want to get after it and that sets the bar.”

Having edged out Rangers for the title, the young Hibees were given a chance to show off the league trophy in front of a full house at Easter Road. Their half-time lap of honour in the final match of the season, a ‘meaningless’ 2-2 home draw with Rangers, included the lads hamming up their celebrations in front of the away fans. With predictable consequences.

“Aye, I told them they’d better watch!’ admitted McGregor, the former centre-half adding: “I mean they're young exuberant laddies so it's difficult to put a leash on them.

“I was walking behind them and then I saw they were getting a bit carried away. But for me it was just a bit of fun, just young boys enjoying themselves.”

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