Hibs No.9 shirt is an honour for Griffiths

Leigh GRIFFITHS has spoken of his pride at being handed the coveted No.9 shirt at Hibs, taking over from Garry O’Connor and following in the footsteps of the likes of Lawrie Reilly, Joe Baker and Keith Wright.

And although the Scotland Under-21 hitman failed to find the net during Hibs’ mini tour of Europe, boss Pat Fenlon has backed the on-loan Wolves star, Eoin Doyle and Ivan Sproule to get among the goals once 
the serious action gets 
underway.

All five of Hibs’ goals as they travelled through Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany came from the teenage trio of Ross Caldwell, Danny Handling and Sam Stanton, but Fenlon insisted he wasn’t in the 
slightest concerned not to see any of what would be regarded as his first choice front men score.

And lifelong Hibs fan Griffiths, who claimed 11 goals last season in a green-and-white jersey, shares his manager’s confidence. He said: “I’ve been told I’m getting the No. 9 jersey so I am delighted. It was a dream come true for me to play for Hibs and to get that shirt is extra special.

“To take that coveted number from Garry O’Connor has topped everything.”

Adamant he’ll clean up his act after being involved in a string of controversial on-field incidents last season, Griffiths revealed he’d jumped at the chance to return to Edinburgh after new Wolves boss Staale Solbakken told him he had no future at Molineux.

He said: “He told me from day one I was not in his plans. The club had seven strikers on their books and he told me if the right offer came in I could go. As soon as I knew Hibs were interested that was it, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

“It is important for a player to be where he is loved and I feel loved at this club.”