Hibs boss praises Bamba for his commitment

HIBS manager Mixu Paatelainen today hailed Sol Bamba's commitment to the cause, admitting the big defender has continued to improve his game since signing in the summer.

The Frenchman joined Hibs in the close season from Dunfermline but suffered a blow in his first game for the Easter Road side when he was sent off against Dundee United.

Since then though the 23-year-old has featured in a further 11 SPL matches and endeared himself to the club's supporters with a string of impressive performances in both defence and midfield.

His best display in a Hibs shirt, though, came in the weekend win over Celtic when he picked up the man-of-the-match award for his all-round contribution.

And Paatelainen revealed that Bamba works just as hard in training as he does out on the field of play.

The Finn said: "His strength has improved and he stays on his feet more, we have paid attention to that side of his game and I think that it has worked.

"We've also looked at his movement and what he does when he is on the ball – and I don't think that he missed a single tackle at the weekend.

"At the end of the day, he is just a young boy and he is improving all the time. He listens and he is an honest worker.

"He has also got a great attitude and really works hard for you, not just in games but on the training pitch as well.

"He's done well for us."

Meanwhile, Paatelainen insisted today that he will continue to chop and change his forward line depending on who his side are up against this season.

The Hibs manager left Derek Riordan on the bench against his old side at the weekend and was proven right in his decision as the Easter Road outfit recorded a 2-0 win over Celtic.

Colin Nish scored the decisive second goal after starting in attack alongside Steven Fletcher and Paatelainen warned his strikers that no-one can be guaranteed a place in his starting line-up.

He continued: "It was purely a tactical decision to leave Derek on the bench.

"I look at every game and the opposition individually and do what I think is right for that particular game.

"I will continue to do that and I will continue to change the team to suit each game.

"I knew that Celtic normally play a 4-4-2 formation and I just felt that we needed some height in attack against Celtic because their back four are all very big.

"And we also needed someone with a bit of presence as well. I felt that Nishy put himself about really well and his link-up play was good.

"He scored a real striker's goal for our second and I thought that all-round he did very well for us."