Park will give Hibs ace Fletch every chance to face Well

Published on Thursday 20 November 2008 09:09

HIBS assistant boss Donald Park today admitted he's desperate to see top-scorer Steven Fletcher face Motherwell this weekend as the Easter Road outfit seek to end a run of six matches without a win.

But Park insisted the 21-year-old hitman won't be risked unless he can prove he has fully recovered from the niggling ankle injury which forced him out of Scotland's glamour clash with Argentina at Hampden last night.

Fletcher picked up the injury against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and subsequently sat out the trip to Tannadice.

He had recovered sufficiently, however, to face Aberdeen last weekend, grabbing a last-gasp equaliser to prevent Mixu Paatelainen's side crashing to a third defeat in just eight days.

Fletcher has been receiving intensive treatment throughout the week and while his team-mates enjoyed the day off, he was at the club's training centre putting in some extra work.

Park said: "Obviously you want your best players available and we are hoping Steven will be fit. We'll have a better idea after tomorrow's training session."

Fletcher's strike against Aberdeen made it five for the season so far, putting the hitman on course to beat last year's total of 14, the youngster having increased his tally in each season.

Although he is more closely associated with spectacular goals, Fletcher's last three have come from inside the six-yard box, proof, Park claimed, that the Hibs star will cause plenty of further problems to opposition defences.

He said: "A high percentage of goals scored come from less than 12 yards. Good strikers see the whole picture, they see things early and know which areas to be in. Steven falls into that category, he is always sniffing about the box. We play a lot of small-sided games in training, games played on pitches which are much smaller and that helps things along.

"He has the talent to score the spectacular goals, headers and those from close-in, no matter what area he is in he has the quality to score.

"Five for this stage of the season isn't a bad return and I definitely think the number of goals he will score will continue to rise as he gains experience and becomes more confident. However, if he doesn't make Saturday we have plenty of options with Colin Nish and Derek Riordan having each scored four goals this season while Steve Pinau is desperate for an opportunity having hit seven goals in his last five matches for the reserves."