Mickey Weir: What's the point in having a Hibs academy if young players don't get a chance?

Exiting the Scottish Cup to Hearts doesn’t leave Hibs with a whole lot to fight for this season.
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A place in Europe is still within touching distance and they need to be winning as many football games as they can to get fans back onside going into the 2023/24 campaign, but the prospect of getting to the group stages in either the Europa League or Europa Conference League is looking very slim.

Therefore, as long as they can keep away from the bottom end of the table, this is the ideal time to try and get some of the young players into this team.

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We keep hearing how a few of them are good enough to play for the club, so this is a great chance to bed a couple of them in. If they're actually good enough then this is the time, and they'll show up if they are. The manager needs to give them an opportunity. We need to figure out if they've got what it takes to play for Hibernian Football Club.

Josh O'Connor, son of ex-Hibs hero Garry, is one of a few players making a name for themselves at youth level. Picture: SNSJosh O'Connor, son of ex-Hibs hero Garry, is one of a few players making a name for themselves at youth level. Picture: SNS
Josh O'Connor, son of ex-Hibs hero Garry, is one of a few players making a name for themselves at youth level. Picture: SNS

At the end of the day, you run an academy to try and get one or two young players through most seasons. If you're not prepared to put them in, then what's the point?

Don't get me wrong. I don't get carried away with youth results. I've seen so many young teams which look good for that level, but when they step up it's a different environment. But if you've got the chance to promote players then you've got to do it and make sure you've got a manager who is willing also.

We could start at the back. There’s major problems in defence at the minute with Ryan Porteous set to leave and Rocky Bushiri potentially out for quite some time. Instead of leaning on a loanee from down south, why not give our own lads a chance to prove themselves?

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I've seen it so many times. Young players can surprise you. They can turn a club around and bring supporters with them. We've done it with Josh Doig and Ryan Porteous in recent seasons. Why don't we see some of the latest batch now? Some of them could come in and shine.

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