Danny Galbraith feels frustration of not breaking through at Hibs

HIBS kid Danny Galbraith today admitted his first season at Easter Road had left him with mixed emotions, the teenager delighted to have finally put a three-year injury hell behind him but frustrated to find himself being dubbed a "super sub".

Signed from Manchester United, the 19-year-old has enjoyed just 218 minutes of first-team action, his 14 appearances so far having all come as he's stepped from the bench.

Even a last-gasp winner against Celtic at Parkhead wasn't enough to convince boss John Hughes to reward him with a starting place, a big disappointment to the Gala-born youngster but one, he insisted, has merely served to make him all the more determined.

He said: "The Celtic game was probably the biggest high of my season and I would be lying if I said I did not expect to push on from there. As it happens I never did for whatever reason.

"The manager is the one who makes all the decisions and every player has to go with that. But I am no different to any other player, I want a chance as much as anyone else. I don't want to be labelled 'super sub,' everyone wants to play games and that's the same for me."

Galbraith believes he has made a valuable contribution in the matches in which he has featured – the victory at Parkhead at the end of January an obvious example, as was the free-kick he earned against Kilmarnock recently which brought Hibs a crucial winner via the boot of Derek Riordan.

He said: "I feel I have done quite well when I have come on. It's hard as a substitute, sometimes for five, ten or 15 minutes when it can take you that long to pick up the pace of the game.

"But I think I have adapted quite well and put in some good performances, whether I've come on to help the team get a goal or to try to protect a lead. I've been quite happy with my season, now I just hope I can get some more playing time soon."

Galbraith accepts, however, that this was always going to be a season for re-establishing himself after a move from Hearts to Old Trafford turned into a nightmare as he was struck down by injury after injury.

Admitting, however, he'd be disappointed if the season were to end with him continuing to play a bit part, Galbraith said: "I was only 19 in August and this is my first season. If I am being honest I would not have been able to play every game this season with the problems I have had.

"Last summer was my first pre-season since I was 15, this was always going to be a really important season for me to prove to myself, if anything, that I am back, fit and don't have any problems. I might look on it as a disappointment that I have not played as many minutes as I would have hoped but I feel the minutes I have had have been put to good use. Hopefully I will do just as well or hopefully better in future."

There was no hiding, though, Galbraith's hope that he can help play his part in salvaging a season which has turned sour, Hibs without a win in nine matches going into today's SPL clash at Falkirk and out of the Scottish Cup at the hands of First Division Ross County.

But Galbraith insisted there was no point in dwelling on the past, saying: "Losing the derby and then what was probably our biggest game of the season, it doesn't get much worse.

"However, we have to make sure we get our season back on track, hopefully starting today. It's hard to point the finger or pick up on one certain thing as to why things have gone wrong, to me the main problem is that we have not played well enough.

"We didn't deserve to beat Ross County or Hearts and in other games where we have lost points we've probably not deserved to win them. Every team goes through a tough patch but we are getting towards the end of the season and it is important we get back to winning ways as soon as possible. We want to finish third, the manager made that public a wee while and we are not far away. It's not as if we are seven or eight points behind, we're just a couple of points off and we still have Dundee United to play."

While Hughes has come in for criticism from some quarters, Galbraith insisted every player was fully committed to the cause, agreeing few could complain at their manager having voiced his displeasure at the nature of their Cup defeat.

He said: "We are all behind him, he isn't even a season into the job. Things will hopefully turn round for us as long as we stick together and show the form we did at the start of the season.

"Everyone knows he wears his heart on his sleeve, he's a really passionate Hibs fan as well as the manager.

"When he has something to say, he says it. Publicly he does not like to have a go at the players but everyone needs a telling off at the right time."