Hibs have a perfectionist in their ranks - exactly what they need for tricky Inverness trip

New signing Moriah-Welsh demands a lot from himself and says Hibs can build upon performance against Celtic

Given Hibs have little margin for error for the rest of this season, it is probably a good thing that they have a self-confessed perfectionist in their team.

Nathan Moriah-Welsh, a confident 21-year-old Guyanese central midfielder who signed for the capital club last month from Bournemouth, freely admits that he sets high standards of himself. Swapping the south coast for Scottish football was an easy decision for him to make as he strives to play more first-team football. He made his first Hibs start in Wednesday’s narrow 2-1 defeat against Celtic and was one of the more eye-catching performers in green-and-white.

Hibs’ midfield has been flimsy at times under Nick Montgomery but it was significantly more robust with the manager switching from 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 against Celtic. Moriah-Welsh compliments ball-players Dylan Levitt and captain Joe Newell and it would be a surprise if the trio are not given another chance to impress on Saturday when Hibs head up the A9 to take on Inverness Caledonian Thistle for a place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

Hibs' Nathan Moriah-Welsh put in a good showing against Celtic on Wednesday,

“I'm a perfectionist so there's always expectation on my shoulders,” said Moriah-Welsh. “The fans expect what they expect and we 100 per cent have to give it to them every week. If we can keep putting in performances like we did against Celtic, then going forward, we can't do no wrong and can't do ourselves any harm.

“Every week I want 100 per cent pass completion, goals, assists, just to be the best person I can be every day, every game. I think I gave the ball away about three or four times against Celtic and I was fuming. If I can be 100 per cent every game, then it gives the team an extra bit every week. I'm still only 21 but in five years time I can still be that perfectionist I am, I could be anywhere.”

Moriah-Welsh, who says he learned a lot from ex-England internationalist Scott Parker while at Bournemouth, was asked to describe what type of midfielder he sees himself as. “Depends on the day really!” he smiled. “I love to say I can do both, I probably showed that against Celtic. The one thing I want to get is more goals and assists. I'm box-to-box and I can play as a number ten or sit, play as a No.8. I'm all-rounded. I like to get around the pitch a lot, like to make tackles, so that suits my game, whether it’s in a two or a three, whatever we play.”

Hibs are on a seven-game winless run in the Premiership and know there are some expecting a cup upset in the Highlands against Duncan Ferguson’s Championship outfit. “We’ll go to Inverness with full confidence off the back of Celtic,” added Moriah-Welsh. “Anything can happen in the cup but we can’t afford to think like that – we have to have a positive mindset. We’ll go in with the same mentality we took into the Celtic game. We have to do that in every game, to be fair. If we apply ourselves the same way in every game, and get a result on Saturday, which I 100 per cent believe we will, we can do well.”

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