Moroccans keen to return to Hibs

Published on Friday 19 June 2009 22:45

HIBERNIAN striker Abdessalam Benjelloun insists he and fellow Moroccan team-mate Merouane Zemmama are both keen to kick-start their careers at Easter Road next season.

Benjelloun spent last term on loan at Belgian sides Charleroi and Roeselare after struggling to make an impact in then-manager Mixu Paatelainen's side during the previous campaign.

Benjelloun last played for Hibs in April 2008 and was plagued by injury in the latter stages of his time at Easter Road.

Midfielder Zemmama's situation was rather different as it was prompted by red tape in Britain. He was allowed to join United Arab Emirates outfit Al Sha'ab on loan last season after his wife was refused a visa for Britain because of her relative youth, caught up in a drive designed to crack down on forced marriages in the UK, but he is also set to return to Leith despite interest from Belgian club Anderlecht.

Newly-appointed manager John Hughes has admitted he is looking forward to the prospect of working with the pair and Benjelloun, who signed a four-year contract in April 2006, insists he and his compatriot both want to return to Hibs.

He said: "I don't know what is happening right now. I know that there is a new manager at the club and I am just waiting to see what will happen. I have not heard anything from Hibs but I would like to come back to Edinburgh and play for them again.

"I did not play a lot of football towards the end of my time in Scotland because Mixu liked to play a different style of game than we had played under John Collins or Tony Mowbray.

"From what I know, John Hughes likes to play their kind of football and I know this from playing games against Falkirk and from watching them play on television. I like what I have seen of him. He likes his sides to play good football, to keep the ball at your feet and play a passing game and I think that will suit me.

"I know they got to the semi-finals of the League Cup and to the final of the Scottish Cup this season," Benjelloun went on. "Every time you play against Falkirk you can see the confidence that the players have got and that they are organised and comfortable and that is something that John Hughes brought to them."

"Merouane is very good, I have seen him in Morocco and I spoke with him on the telephone the other day.

"He also wants to come back to Hibs. He likes John Hughes and his style very much and hopes that he can play a part in his side too."

"He had to leave because of problems with his wife not being allowed to live in Scotland but hopefully the club will be able to sort something out.

"Neither of us will forget the club or the fans."