'Bro, tell me about Hibs': The love story of Myziane Maolida, Elie Youan and bid to avoid heartache

Duo are getting the best out of each other – but it may not be enough to land top six

“How are you doing bro? Tell me about Hibs,” the message on Elie Youan’s phone read. It was Myziane Maolida, a blast from past days of French youth football, tapping up his former team-mate on life at Easter Road. Whatever Youan replied, it did the trick. Maolida joined on loan back in January and has been a big hit at the club.

Maolida was named Premiership player of the month for March on Friday after scoring four goals in six matches and Hibs will need the on-loan Hertha Berlin forward to keep knocking in the goals if they are to bang the door down to the top six. Currently seventh with two matches before the split, Hibs would be in further peril without the Comorian’s contribution. Victory at home against St Johnstone on Saturday is imperative if they are to rival Dundee and St Mirren for the last remaining berths in the right half of the league.

With Maolida, they have a chance. An angular, strong fellow with pace, tricks and composure, you can see why once had a release fee of nearly €100million when at Nice. Like all good players, the 25-year-old has raised the standards of those around him, in particular Youan. An enigmatic forward, the Franco-Ivorian has come alive with his old pal beside him. March was a fruitful month for Youan too. He did not score but laid on five assists – three of them to Maolida. The duo have picked up from where they left off several years ago with the French youth teams, where they dovetailed nicely and focused on “Tcheks play” – a style of football in France based on pleasure before identity.

Elie Youan, right, and Myziane Maolida, left, are both in good form for Hibs.

When asked about Maolida, Youan burst into a big smile. “What can I say?” he said. “He is a good guy, we played a couple of games back in the days with the under-18 national team. I think the connection is just natural, we don’t need to talk a lot on the pitch, it’s just about natural connection. I understand him well. We spend a lot of time together away from the pitch and we are on the same page to help the team. I think that’s why lately it has been pretty good between the two of us. Back in the day he was playing at the top and I was on the right. I don't have the right words to explain, but it's just like ... he loves the ball and I love the ball, so it's just more easy.”

Youan readily accepts that the presence of Maolida has brought the best out of him. “Yeah, with a player like Myziane I can express the best of me,” the 24-year-old admitted. “I can play free, I know if I make a run he will understand what I will try and do. He always tries to reach me. I do it with every player but with him it’s more natural because we are from the same school. He helped me a lot like I do with him.”

The first time the two were pitched together was with France Under-18s, with Youan coming from Nantes and Maolida from Paris. “We played against Italy – it was a long, long time ago,” recalled Youan. “I always found him a very good player, and back in the day he was more technical than me. I think I improve myself and we took different roads, but now we are on the same team. We hang out together. We love to stay on the pitch after hours, to do extra work, to make our relationship on the pitch better for helping the team. We have a lot of friends in common. Before coming here he texted me, how are you doing bro, tell me about Hibs, which I did and he came. I think everybody is happy to have him around here.”

What chance of the loan being made a permanent arrangement? Maolida is on a pretty penny at Hertha and has a year left on his contract. “I think that's Myziane's choice,” added Youan. “I cannot talk instead of him. I think he's happy, actually. He wasn't in a good place a couple of months ago and now he starts enjoying playing football again. The only thing I can do to persuade him is to give him assists to score. That's the only thing I can do!”

Hibs' Myziane Maolida scored last week against Rangers.

Finishing in the top six would also help. This is the third season in a row that Hibs have arrived at this juncture of a season scrabbling for position. Last season, under Lee Johnson, they made it, but the previous campaign Shaun Maloney’s team failed and shortly after, the coach was axed. Montgomery feels on more solid ground than his predecessors but there is no doubting how damaging it would be for the club to have five meaningless fixtures to end the season.

Montgomery is aware of this – and knows it is not all in Hibs’ hands. Dundee in sixth are a point better off with a game in hand, albeit against Rangers on Wednesday. They host Motherwell on Saturday – pitch inspection permitting – and then Aberdeen the following weekend. St Mirren in fifth are five points clear but their final two pre-split matches are not easy, against Hearts and then Celtic. Two wins for the Hibees, against St Johnstone and then Motherwell next weekend, and they will be on 44 points and in a good position.

“It’s important to keep everything calm,” Montgomery said. “There is pressure in football throughout the season but success can be measured and defined in many different ways. Everyone will see making the top six as a success and so will I as manager, given that I came in midway through the season into a situation where the team was needing a lift.

“Throughout the season there have been many positives - a lot of young academy players have made debuts; since January we’ve really improved the squad and brought in some quality players; we’ve had two good cup runs but we know that we have two games now and the only thing we can control is the game on Saturday, and then next week against Motherwell.

“We can’t control anything else and our full focus, as normal, has been on preparing for the St Johnstone game.”