Hibs midfielder Andrew Shinnie admits that dropping down to the bench was difficult to take but hard work on the training ground has paid dividends and last week he was back to his best in the 8-1 victory over Bonnyrigg Rose.
With Kris Commons returning to Celtic, Shinnie is likely to start against Queen of the South at Palmerston tomorrow and although he expects a tough game he is confident that if the players play to their ability the team are more than capable of returning with all three points.
Speaking to Hibs TV, Shinnie said: “I missed out on the last couple of games because I was not as fresh as I could be but the boys did well and got two great results against Dundee United and Dumbarton so I had to take it on the chin. I was on the bench but I trained hard and last Saturday I felt refreshed and energetic.
“We have a great squad here. We have players back fit now and we have brought in players and that’s what you need, competition for places or people get a bit complacent but that’s just football.
“Obviously Kris (Commons) came in and did really well, but if you are not in the team you just have to work hard which is what I did.
“We’re in great spirits. Obviously we had a couple of great league wins and a good cup win, so everything is going well.
“We’ve got a good lead at the top of the table and we’ve got to keep putting the pressure on other teams to keep up with us. We’re playing well, training’s been great, everyone is in great spirits and we’re looking forward to going down there.
“It will be astroturf which is always a bit difficult to play on and Queens area tough team. At the start of the season when we played them down there they were unbeaten at the top of the league that shows that they have quality in the team.
“If we go there and play the way we can then we will get three points.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
