Hibs boss to 'cherry-pick' English stars

Hibs boss Colin Calderwood today revealed he's in the market for yet another striker despite having finally tied up Ghana internationalist Junior Agogo on a one-year deal.

And Calderwood believes he will be spoilt for choice given the daily list of possible targets being thrust his way as English outfits begin to gear up for the start of their season.

Well aware clubs south of the border would be well behind those in Scotland given the earliest start to an SPL season ever, Calderwood has even held back part of his budget in anticipation of being able to "cherry pick" the best of what becomes available.

Having been frustrated by red tape and an injury to Agogo over the past week or so, Calderwood was delighted to have once again signed a player who he knows well after snapping him up for Nottingham Forest where his goals helped clinch promotion to the English Championship.

He said: "He is a proven goalscorer and a strong character and has already settled into life at Hibs since arriving on trial. Junior never gets fazed by challenges and will add another dimension to our attacking arsenal."

Hibs fans, however, will have to wait to see the much-travelled hitman, who turns 32 on Monday, pull on a green and white shirt. While Calderwood was expecting international clearance - Agogo's last club was Apollon Limassol in Cyprus - to arrive today, the forward has tweaked a small muscle in his thigh which has ruled him out of playing against Inverness Caley on Saturday.

Hibs medical staff reckon it might be another fortnight before he is ready, but according to Calderwood, Agogo, who has funded his own stay in Edinburgh, believes he will be fit before then.

The news will come as a relief to the Hibs support who had seen Garry O'Connor left as the club's only experienced frontman following Akpo Sodje's knee injury, but, while adamant he already has a formidable strikeforce at his disposal once all three are fit, Calderwood is determined to add more firepower. He said: "I am looking for another and what is blatantly obvious to us is the level of player that is now getting put to us every day.

"The fact everyone is starting pre-season and people are finding they might not be as involved as they might like means there's going to be real good additions to be had. That's why we held back some amount of money. We might have to stretch that a little, but I think we could cherry pick one or two."

Meanwhile, Calderwood revealed midfielder Martin Scott had six stitches inserted in a gash below his knee, an injury which forced him off after just 30 minutes of last night's 2-0 defeat by Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.