Exclusive:Hibs Scotland hopeful should take heart from Steve Clark turning to youth, as Gray pushes striker's claim

Steve Clarke’s turn towards promising young talent should give Kieron Bowie every encouragement as the Hibs striker pursues his dream of becoming Scotland’s first-choice No. 9, according to Easter Road boss David Gray. And the Hibs gaffer believes Nicky Cadden would have been pushing for selection before suffering a hamstring strain in Sunday’s Scottish Cup loss to Celtic.

Clarke has named teenage Hearts forward James Wilson and Motherwell wunderkind Lennon Miller for the upcoming Nations League ties against Greece, with both 18-year-olds described in glowing terms by the national team boss. Bowie has made just three starts for Hibs since becoming the club’s marquee summer signing in a £600,0000 move from Fulham, with a hamstring injury sustained on Scotland Under-21 duty back in September putting him completely out of action for four months.

Gray didn’t expect Clarke to rush the progress of a player who earned ten caps for Scot Gemmill’s 21s. But Bowie has shown enormous potential in starting three of the last four games for his club – and has declared his ambition to answer Scotland’s call in a long-time problem position.

“I think, yes, listen, Kieron's obviously came through the Scottish system as well, been with the 21s, done well for them,” said the Hibs boss. “Like you just touched on, he's coming back from two long-term injuries, so he's got a long way to go in terms of him being the finished article. He knows that; he's got a lot of hard work ahead of him.

“But I'm sure his mindset and ambition will be to pull on that Scotland jersey for the first team, and he's another one that falls into that category. If he's playing for Hibs every week and doing well and scoring goals, it gives him the best possible opportunity.

“He's definitely got the attributes, the capability of doing it. He's also got competition in many places as well.

“You just touched on a couple of younger players, and some of the centre-forwards are there. But he's definitely got the attributes to do it.”

Ex-Scotland boss Strachan tipped Cadden for call-up

Former Scotland boss Gordon Strachan told The Evening News yesterday that he thought Cadden would have had “a great chance” of being named in the Scotland squad, but for the injury that saw him limp out of action late in the first half of a 2-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final loss at Celtic Park on Sunday. The 28-year-old left wingback has topped the Hibs chart when it comes to creating chances this season.

Asked about the prospect of a call-up for Cadden, Gray said: “He certainly wouldn’t be doing himself any harm with what he's doing. That's something that has been a factor for players coming to Hibs, or coming through at Hibs, that if you do well and the team are doing well, the international managers definitely take note.

“He certainly wasn't doing himself any harm with his numbers, his performances, his contributions in terms of goals and assists, and I know that will be an ambition of his. Like any Scottish player, the ultimate goal is to play for a national team, and I'm sure he'll be no different.”

Eager to bounce back from Scottish Cup loss to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic

Hibs travel to Kilmarnock on Saturday, a venue where they haven’t won since 2020, eager to extend their 13-game unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership. After losing to Brendan Rodgers’ Treble-chasing champions, Scottish Cup holders and Champions League adventurers, Gray’s men are confident that they’ve got the firepower needed to keep them in the fight for third place.

Key to that may be the return to fitness of Elie Youan, who came off the bench in Glasgow for his first minutes since the Boxing Day win over Hearts at Tynecastle, Gray saying: “Yeah, it was good to get him back. It would be a wee while since he's obviously been back in squads. He was obviously in the squad against Hearts at home, didn't come on in that game, and then obviously got some very much needed minutes.

“I think everybody sees that, he needs more minutes, he'll need to get that, build it up as the weeks go on. If we can get him fully fit and fire him between now and the end of the season, he'll definitely be an asset.

“I’ve mentioned it a few times, but I like the balance I can get from numerous forward players at different times. So they're all very different

“You’ve got the physicality of Kieron, and then the pace and reactiveness of Martin Boyle who can run in behind, but also the quality when he does get in there as well. Ellie's similar to that, in terms of that pace on the last line, when he plays up front.

“Then you've got Myko Kuharevich, who's a bit of both, so he's got that physicality but can also run in behind as well, so he's probably a bit of both. And then Dwight Gayle’s experience that he brings when he plays, the coaching he does within the games, players reacting off of his movement, he's always in the right place.

“Or I could put a Junior Hoilett or Rudi Molotnikov up there, they're more creative ones as well. So there is a real good blend of what we can do, whether it be youth, whether it be experience or physicality. So I'm certainly happy with that department; we just need to make sure we keep finding the right balance to make sure we win games as well.”

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