Booth ready to call shots as Hibs face Caley

Hibs fans have grown to view the long journey up the A9 to Inverness with more than a touch of trepidation having failed to see their side win in eight attempts in the Highlands.

It's a miserable record which stretches back more than six years, the best Hibs have managed in all those visits to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium being a couple of draws. Tony Mowbray, John Collins and Mixu Paatelainen all tried but failed to emerge victorious and earlier this season current manager Colin Calderwood also tasted defeat.

But as he prepared for the Easter Road outfit's latest attempt to lay that particular hoodoo to rest tonight, Callum Booth insisted that despite all those failures of the past, the stadium on the banks of the Moray Firth was in no way a bogey ground for Hibs.

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Pointing out that like a good number of his team-mates this will be their first match away to Caley, the Scotland Under-21 star said: "I don't think you can say it's a psychological thing, it's different Hibs teams that have been going up there over the years.

"I feel it's just one of those things you get in football, most clubs will have a ground where they struggle to get a result. I wouldn't imagine that when the team runs out tonight we'll be thinking about the past, we'll simply be focused on the 90 minutes ahead.

"It will be my first game there and it will be the same for quite a number of the lads, including those who have come into the club in the last few months. To us it will be just another football ground, another away game in which we'll be trying to do our best rather than dwelling on talk of jinxes or hoodoos."

Having said that, however, the 19-year-old conceded he and his team-mates face another difficult match with Terry Butcher's side having clinched seventh place, the consolation prize for those in the bottom six, which Hibs had themselves been chasing.

Agreeing confidence will be high among the Caley players, particularly following their stunning 3-2 win over Celtic which blew the SPL title race wide open once again, Booth said: "Terry Butcher has done a really good job up there, they've got some very good players.

"We know they'll be well organised while Richie Foran and Adam Rooney upfront are big, strong boys, difficult to play against who are a handful for whoever is up against them. But hopefully we can deal with them as we did at Easter Road a couple of months ago."

On that occasion Hibs won 2-0 with both Booth and Lewis Stevenson claiming their first goals in a green and white shirt, a repeat of which, while doing little to improve the Edinburgh club's league position, will, Booth argued, give some sort of succour to their supporters.

He recalled: "It was a good day for me at the end of February, probably my best game for Hibs while Lewis and I both got our first goals for the club. It's been a long, hard season for the fans but now there are only two games left so hopefully we can finish on some sort of high."

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Booth's spectacular opening strike won him the Clydesdale Bank's goal of the month award, the Haddington-based kid also picking up the Player of the Month prize but it was the recognition he received from his own team-mates at the beginning of this week which, he admitted, he holds most dearly.

Voted Hibs Young Player of the Year by the rest of Calderwood's squad, Booth said: "It's not been the best of seasons for the club but on a personal level it's been good for me. I enjoyed the first half out on loan at Brechin City before coming back to Easter Road and finding myself put straight into the first team.

"Since then I've been involved in pretty much every match and I know I have improved as a player over the course of the season. Being voted the best young player by the other guys at Easter Road, the ones who see me in training every day as well as on matchdays, means a great deal to me, I was delighted when I heard I'd won.

"Now my hope is that I can keep in the manager's thoughts over the final two games and into next season."

Part of the radical overhaul Calderwood made during the January transfer window, a revamp which halted Hibs' seemingly unstoppable slide towards a relegation dog-fight, Booth envisages plenty more changes over the summer months having seen his manager use recent matches to conduct a few experiments with different players in different positions.

Results, though, haven't gone Hibs' way with four matches gleaning a single point although Booth argued the long-term gain should outweigh the short-term pain.

He said: "I'm sure the manager will bring in a few players. He's looking to next season, giving a few boys a chance and some young lads are getting involved. The manager will be finalising his thoughts, making up his mind as to where we need to strengthen but I am sure he knows what needs to be done."