Hibs youngster keen to earn first-team squad place

Hibs kid David Crawford hitches a lift to training every day with Akpo Sodje and spends every minute listening and learning from the much-travelled striker.

And on arrival at East Mains, the 19-year-old forward simply revels in being in the company not only of Sodje, pictured below, but Garry O'Connor, a willing pupil as he picks up the tricks of the trade which, he hopes, will steer him towards regular SPL football.

Having spent the latter half of last season out on loan at Second Division Ayr United, Crawford has caught the eye in the Easter Road club's first two pre-season friendlies against Berwick Rangers and Livingston, his clever pass creating Hibs' third goal at Shielfield Park for his "chauffeur".

Awarded a season-long contract by boss Colin Calderwood, Crawford admits the pressure is on as he seeks to make a name for himself, but, he insisted, he couldn't ask for any better teachers than Sodje and O'Connor.

He said: "I stay across the road from Akpo so he gives me a lift to training. Both he and Garry have been great to me, two experienced guys who are only too willing to help.

"They are always talking to me about things like my positioning, where to be in certain situations and so on. It's good to have them because I can only learn from them. I'm aiming to do as much of that as I can, take it into my own game, and look to improve.

"Obviously, with a one-year deal there's a bit of pressure, but I have confidence in myself and I am enjoying every minute of pre-season working with the first team – it's definitely different to the Under-19s."

Crawford is well aware that O'Connor and Sodje appear to be the first-choice pairing up front – although Ivan Sproule can also operate through the middle as well as on the wing – but that won't stop him striving to impress.

He added: "All I can do is work as hard as I can in training every day and try to push myself on so that if a chance does arise I can take it. Going out on loan to Ayr for a few months was a great experience for me – it helped me a lot – but now I have to try to do my best to work towards hopefully getting into the team at some stage this season."

If training with the first team is something of a new experience for Crawford, he finds himself among a host of familiar faces with Calderwood giving the likes of Scott Taggart, Lewis Horner, Scott Smith and Callum Antell game time over the past few days. Pointing to the fact that Paul Hanlon, David Wotherspoon and Callum Booth, all now first-team regulars, had come through Hibs' renowned youth system, Crawford revealed it was an easy decision to sign on at Easter Road when he was released by Celtic.

The Airdrie-born youngster explained: "I've actually been with Hibs for five years, so I've more or less come through the ranks here. Hibs have always been known for raising their own players; I remember back then guys like Derek Riordan and Scott Brown in the team so I felt this was the right place to come, and so did my parents.

"It's encouraging for any youngster to see others starting off as kids here and working their way into the first team. The manager certainly seems to be putting his faith in youth, so it is up to us to repay him as best we can."

So far, Calderwood has been pleased by what he has seen from the youngsters – but warned them they have a long way to go before they can regard themselves as true professionals.

The manager said: "There have been moments when, I think, they have earned the plaudits. People can see there's something in every player. But it is how good and how determined they are to be footballers.

"For me, no-one is truly a footballer until he has played 50 to 100 first-team games. They are nowhere near there, but we are going to give them the opportunity to do what Callum did last season.

"You can see they have one or two attributes that will be of benefit in the long run, but will they all come through and be first-team players? It's doubtful, but you can see the improvement in Scott Taggart from his performances at the end of last season.

"There's going to be an ebb and flow. We will have highs and lows with them so you don't get too anxious during pre-season. But what you see gives you a line into picking the team and really deciding who should go on and get a bit more experience or who stays and becomes part of the squad at the start of the season."