Hibs’ youngsters refreshed by training camp in Turkey

Hibs’ youngsters have arrived back in Scotland after a productive two-week training camp in Turkey where they joined by Scotland under-19 coach Ricky Sbragia.

The teenagers return to action on Wednesday when they face St Mirren in an Under 20s game. (Kick off 6pm)

The squad were obviously devastated by the news that team mate David Paul had tragically passed away in December and the overseas trip helped to galvanise the group in preparation for the final stages of the season.

Head of Academy James McDonaugh told Hibernian TV: “Our two weeks in Turkey were great in terms of being together after the tragedy of David’s death and also working hard to get our fitness levels high for the second half of the season.

“We now face the challenge of competing for two league titles, one where we are top on goal difference and the other we lead by a point, but the big challenge is providing another player that the manager can trust to join his first team.

“While Saturday’s first team result against St Mirren was disappointing, it was great for me to see Jordon Forster, Alex Harris, Sam Stanton and Jason Cummings feature at senior level.

“The under-20s squad is a bit stretched now, so I would expect some under 17s to now feature in the squad and maybe even start in some games.”

The trip, funded by the Leonardo da Vinci programme with the SFA Performance Department, proved to be hugely beneficial and McDonaugh and the squad were joined by Scotland under-19 coach Ricky Sbragia.