Golden Generation inspiring Hibs' Wotherspoon and Co

DAVID WOTHERSPOON admits the current crop of Easter Road youngsters face a tough challenge if they are to go anywhere near matching the standard set by Hibs' "Golden Generation" - but insists that won't stop them striving to do so.

While it might be six years since Tony Mowbray's kids - among them Scott Brown, Steven Whittaker, Kevin Thomson, Derek Riordan and Garry O'Connor, who returned on Wednesday - took the SPL by storm, those days are still remembered fondly by Hibs fans.

But despite their club boasting a reputation for breeding home-grown talent which is the envy of most others, those self-same fans are wondering whether they will ever see such a prodigious group emerge at the same time again.

Since those halcyon days there have, of course, been others who have come through the system, but apart from Steven Fletcher few, if any, have gone on to make much impact in the top flight.

Now, though, Hibs' first team boasts three who have come through the ranks together, Wotherspoon and Paul Hanlon establishing themselves as regulars while 20-year-old Callum Booth made the left-back berth his own following his return from a loan spell with Brechin City.

Towards the end of last season Scott Taggart, another from that all-conquering Under-19 side, was given a taste of the action while teenage midfielder Lewis Horner and 17-year-old Danny Handling enjoyed cameo roles in Colin Calderwood's side.

And hopes are high that Sean Welsh, captain of the U19s, will finally begin to fulfil the promise he showed before finding his progress brought more or less to a halt by injury.

Like Mowbray - who augmented local talent with youngsters from elsewhere such as Dean Shiels and David Murphy - Calderwood, too, appears to have plenty of faith in youth, having signed Icelandic Under-21 star Victor Palsson and 22-year-old Matt Thornhill, while fans hope to see 19-year-old Richie Towell return to Easter Road from Celtic on a permanent rather than loan deal.

Danny Galbraith, 20, has earned a new contract while David Stephens, recruited from Norwich City and only 19, is another who will be hoping to feature more in the coming season.

Wotherspoon, however, is well aware that no matter how well he and his team-mates may do they'll always be judged against that remarkable crop of youngsters which lit up Easter Road and Scottish football.

The midfield star said: "I think it is really exciting that we have a young squad and I think it should be exciting for the fans as well to see so many home-grown players coming through and getting into the squad at the one time. Paul and I have each played almost 80 first-team games and Callum is starting to rack up appearances too. It's great to see Sean back and hopefully he'll remain injury-free this season.

"It has been a real shame what has happened to him because he was definitely on the edge of breaking through and, I think, would have had his chance at some point had it not been for injury.

"The youngsters of the Tony Mowbray era certainly set a high bar for anyone to emulate when you see what they have done with their careers but that's what we'll be striving to do for ourselves. We all have the ambition and drive to succeed and hopefully that will show in our performances and help us get results."

Wotherspoon would be the first to admit last season was far from successful, the tenth place finish a stark contrast to his first campaign when he stepped from the Under-19 side to score on his debut before going on to help Hibs clinch fourth spot and what proved to be an all-too brief flirtation with the Europa League.

However, the Scotland Under-21 player insisted he's already consigned those memories to history. He said: "Obviously it was a totally different season to my first one, we went from a high to a low.

"We had high expectations but things just didn't pan out as we had hoped. It wasn't a good feeling to be coming off the pitch disappointed with the result and to hear the fans letting us know how disappointed they were.

"You go out there for every match determined to do your best but sometimes, for no apparent reason, things that had come off for you in the past just didn't happen.

"But as a player you don't want to think too much about the past although, obviously, we need to improve."

Calderwood's squad report back for pre-season training on Monday which brings the start of the new season into sharp focus and, Wotherspoon insisted, a renewed sense of optimism.

He said: "Every season is a big season but the beauty of football is you go into the start of it excited and optimistic.

"We want to be hitting the ground running come July 23 and personally I am really looking forward to pre-season, getting my fitness up and being ready for the start of the season."

Much had been made of the apparent lack of transfer activity at Easter Road until O'Connor arrived on Wednesday to join fellow returning hero Ivan Sproule, while MK Dons defender Sean O'Hanlon is poised to pen a two-year deal.

Those signings complement Calderwood's activity in January when he brought in Palsson, Thornhill, Martin Scott, Akpo Sodje and Jakub Divis.

Since then, Riordan, Colin Nish, John Rankin, Graeme Smith, Kevin McBride, Liam Miller, Francis Dickoh, Darryl Duffy and Steven Thicot among others have departed, and as a result the threadbare nature of the squad had brought concern in some quarters.

Wotherspoon, though, has no doubt that Calderwood's side will be ready when the time comes. He said: "The players who came to the club in January lifted things, we won five games in a row and took away any worries about a relegation battle. The fans may have been a bit edgy but I don't think they need be. There was a lot of transfer activity in the winter window, players came in and now others have gone.

"I think we need to bring in a couple more to strengthen the squad but other than that I feel things will have balanced themselves out between players coming and going."

"The youngsters of the Tony Mowbray era certainly set a high bar for anyone to emulate"

DAVID WOTHERSPOON