Hibs youngster Josh Doig reveals Lewis Stevenson advice helped stop the threat of Rangers' full-back James Tavernier

Rangers' Ianis Hagi and Hibernian's Josh Doig during the Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox Stadium on December 26. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Doig started the season as Hibs first choice left back, earning rave reviews for his early performances, but has been used more sparingly in recent weeks following the return of Lewis Stevenson and Sean Mackie.

Refreshed and re-energised, the 18-year-old returned to the starting line-up for the trip to Ibrox and produced an solid performance at left wing back.

Rangers claimed a 1-0 win thanks to Ianis Hagi's 33rd minute strike, but after taking some pre-match tips from club stalwart Stevenson, Doig succeeded where most have failed in containing the threat of James Tavernier, the marauding Rangers full-back who has produced 17 goals and 14 assists this season.

"Lewis, as always, came to me before the game. He knew the threat of Tavernier with the amount of goals and assists he's got this season," Doig told Hibs TV.

"He told me how to show him the way that he can't really get balls in and I thought the way I did it today I stopped the threat of him."

Doig's personal stats from the match reflected an all-action display, placing him first in the team for total distance covered at 11,458m.

"Playing left wing-back I know I have to get up and down," he said. "It was my first time back in the team in quite a while so I knew it was going to be a bit of a blower. I put the work in and I'm just devastated we didn't get that goal or chance.

"I tried my hardest, I always put the work in. My final ball could have been better at points but it's always something I can go and work on in training."

Despite the defeat, Doig believes Hibs can take confidence from their performance, with Rangers resorting to time-wasting tactics in the closing stages - keeping the ball in the corner flag - as they held on to the victory.

"Rangers are a top team and their record here shows, but I think we gave them a really tough game," he said. "If something dropped for us or if the final ball was a better I think we could have taken something from the game."

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