Exclusive: Hibs prospect on chats with Monty, a first senior final and long-term ambitions

Young striker learning to man up, front up and fight for game time at Airdrie

O'Connor is congratulated by his Airdrie team-mates after scoring on the road to this afternoon's SPFL Trust Trophy Final.

A first piece of senior silverware would undoubtedly be a career highlight for Josh O’Connor. The on-loan Hibs striker is fully focused on helping Airdrie beat The New Saints to lift the SPFL Trust Trophy – that’s the Challenge Cup, in old money – at Falkirk Stadium this afternoon.

But O’Connor, raised in a family with one famously strong connection to Easter Road, obviously has ambitions beyond contributing to a grand day out for Rhys McCabe’s Diamonds. Ambitions that centre around forcing his way into Nick Montgomery’s plans.

“Making the Hibs team has always been my plan, my dream, to try to force my way into that team,’ said O’Connor, son of former Hibs scoring great Garry, the 19-year-old adding: “And I’ll do everything in my power, work as hard as I can, to get there.

“I think the experience of playing in senior football for a season will help me reach that goal. I’m learning a lot at Airdrie – and want to put it to good use next season.

“I was too young to see my dad play for Hibs first time around, but I got him for the second time around (when he scored 16 goals in season 2011-22). It helps, having grown up around football and Hibs.

“For one thing, it means I’ve supported Hibs all my life. They’re my team, my club. I feel so natural, having been around Hibs all my life. There is that little bit of pressure that comes with it, as well. But I love it.”

More often a substitute than a starter under McCabe, O’Connor has a couple of Hibs team-mates to keep him company at Airdrie, although Murray Aiken is currently out with a broken ankle, while Kanayo Megwa is cup-tied for today’s final. Having won his share of trophies in the youth ranks, as well as experiencing the thrills of last season’s run in the UEFA Youth League, when Hibs saw off Molde and Nantes before eventually falling to Borussia Dortmund, the striker isn’t a total rookie.

O'Connor in UEFA Youth League action against German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund.

Today’s game is different to anything he’s faced as a kid coming through the ranks, though, as he admitted: “I’ve won some trophies. We went over Northern Ireland and won the Foyle Cup. I’ve won the reserve league with Hibs, as well as the Under-18s league. But this is my first really competitive senior final.

“The thinking behind the loan was understanding that I’d never really been involved in men’s football. So I wanted a first experience of that. Rhys, the gaffer here now, came to a couple of the reserve games, a couple of the European games we had last season, and he was interested in getting me in. That’s how it came about.

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“I took a little bit of convincing because there were a lot of teams after me at the time, with loan offers. I was always set to go on loan. Lee Johnson was gaffer at the time, and he told me the best thing was to go and play men’s football. I was actually meant to go to Airdrie last season, last January – but it fell through at the last minute.

“Rhys convinced me because he’s got such a young team. And you see the way Airdrie play. They develop young players. They treat them right – and they trust them. That’s what really convinced me to go there.

“If I had gone to Airdrie last season, I wouldn’t have been able to play Dortmund or those other big games in Europe. So it wasn’t the worst decision, in the end.

“I’ve learned a lot at Airdrie. Even dealing with not playing. The experiences of people being much smarter than you in the game. Being in a changing room with all first-team players is a change, having been in the reserves at Hibs.

“And the big difference is even just playing in front of a crowd. These supporters come to our games week in week out, to support their club – and there is pressure that comes with that. I’ve been loving every second of that, playing for something that matters.

“There’s not much more important than this weekend. I’m really looking forward to it because I feel I’ve really contributed to reaching the final, having played in a few of the games. It means a lot to me.”

Montgomery has already demonstrated his commitment to developing young players, throwing kids like Rory Whittaker, Megwa and four or five others into the first team for major fixtures. He is also, apparently, good at keeping tabs on the youth prospects he’s sent out on loan.

O’Connor said: “Nick has phoned me a couple of times. When he first came in, he phoned me because he wanted to get to know me. And he knew my old man as well, I think they’d been involved through Scotland at some point, so there was a wee bit of a relationship there.

“When I’ve been in the building a couple of times, he’s been great in taking time to chat to me. He’s genuinely interested in players out on loan.

“We’ve not had the conversation yet. Not the one about long-term plans. We’ll maybe have that during pre-season, a proper sit-down and a chat about the longer term, because I’m still under contract until the end of next season.”

SPFL Trust Trophy Final: Today at Falkirk Stadium, 16:15 KO, live on BBC Alba. Buy tickets HERE.