Oli Shaw's goalscoring ability never in doubt, says Stubbs

Oli Shaw was handed his Hibs debut by Alan Stubbs

Shaw was only 17 and just “skin and bones” when Stubbs threw him on for the final 15 minutes of a 3-0 League Cup win over Montrose but, revealed the former Hibs boss, by then the youngster was already catching the eye with his goals for the club’s Under-20s side.

A prolific strike-rate at that level persuaded current head coach Neil Lennon to promote Shaw to his first-team squad, the Scotland Under-19 cap scoring twice against Celtic, before following up those strikes with goals against Ross County and Kilmarnock. Stubbs was at Tynecastle for the last Edinburgh derby to see Shaw denied his moment of glory when assistant referee Sean Carr failed to spot his early shot had crashed off the bar and crossed Hearts goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin’s line.

And that, insisted Stubbs, was just a glimpse of what the kid is all about.

He said: “That was Oli at a younger level too. He could be quiet in a game and then burst into life.

“Physically, he just wasn’t where he needed to be at that time. He was still skin and bones, but he always scored goals. Now he’s been out on loan, kept progressing and he’s made an impact on the first team.

“There was never any questioning his goalscoring attributes – it was his overall game management and hold-up play with his back to goal. He has done really well but maybe needs to be more involved in the game.

“Oli is a confident guy. He’s come from the Under-20 and held his own in the first team. That confidence is reflected in his performances. In the Hearts game he should have scored the winning goal, but it wasn’t given.”