Top Hibs prospect urged to keep working for first-team return as gaffer Gray hails young talent

Hibs boss David Gray has backed one of his team’s brightest young prospects to force his way back into the starting XI. And the gaffer insists teen talent Rudi Molotnikov remains very much part of his plans – despite a drastic reduction in playing time after an all-action start to the season.

Virtually a guaranteed starter at the beginning of the campaign, the 18-year-old hasn’t started in any of the last eight games for Hibs. But the manager says the Scotland Under-19 star, who missed the weekend trip to Celtic Park with a minor groin injury likely to clear up in time for Saturday’s visit of Ross County, is still in his thinking.

“He’s in the first-team squad, he's in the dressing room now, he's around the first team every single day and that's because of how he adapted right at the start of the season,” said Gray. “He did really well when he came in and continues to do well in training.

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“But we've got a lot of competition now in his position; players are getting fitter, and when you find yourself in the position we are, sometimes you need a bit of experience as well. Rudi has dealt with that (not playing much) really well.

“He will 100 per cent come again; he's still heavily in my thoughts every single week. Even when he's not been playing, he comes into the conversations because of how well he does in training and what he was giving us early in the season and I still believe he's got a really bright future for us.”

Gray has been impressed by how Molotnikov, equally comfortable on the wing or in the No. 10 position, has used his time on the training ground to watch and learn from veterans like Canadian international Junior Hoilett. The manager, glad to see the youngster making up lost ground after a frustrating loan spell with Stirling Albion last season, said: “Yes, I see him learning from the senior boys every day. Not just Junior, you've got Dwight Gayle as well, Martin Boyle, all the senior boys in the group.

“We’ve got a lot of good attacking players in those positions. Rudi can play a variety of positions as well, but he also just loves playing football. He's such a young boy, enjoying his training, enjoying the opportunity to play for Hibs.

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“If you'd asked him at the start of the season if he thought he'd play as many games as he has, he'd probably say no, but it's a credit to him for how well he's done. He's someone who I identified last season as someone who I really liked.

“He was doing well last season, and I always knew he could deal with the physicality of the Scottish Premiership, and he’s come a long way since going on loan and not playing much last season. He can take a lot of confidence from, and belief in what he's doing and as I've already said, he has a really bright future - he just needs to keep working hard and keep improving, which he's desperate to do.”