Hibs' Callum Booth keeps feet on ground after Brechin stint

Hibs youngster Callum Booth insists he will never take his position in the team for granted after witnessing the harsh realities of life at the other end of the football spectrum.

At the club's plush East Mains training complex, the squad are spoilt from having their own chef, a hydro-therapy pool, players' lounge, gym and pristine pitches.

The luxury Booth enjoys with the Leith outfit is in stark contrast to what he encountered when he served his apprenticeship on loan in the part-time ranks with Arbroath and Brechin in the uncompromising bottom tiers of the Scottish game.

Speaking ahead of today's visit of St Mirren, Booth, who has become a first-team regular since returning from Brechin in January, said: "It definitely helped being out on loan to Arbroath and Brechin.

"When you see players finishing work and then going straight to training, it makes you appreciate what football's about, playing for win bonuses and stuff.

"We have everything here at Hibs - a brilliant training ground and stuff - and it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking life is easy but going out on loan meant I was definitely not going to allow it to happen to me.

"It's not too bad playing in the lower leagues. It's not as if I would never want to go back there and there are some good teams down there. But I have everything here and want to stay at Hibs as long as I can.

"It maybe helped me seeing that side of the game but you're also playing against men who have been playing in the lower leagues for 20 years and batter you about, so it toughened me up."

St Mirren midfielder Patrick Cregg aims to build on their Old Firm performances against Hibernian as the Paisley side look to finish off Hamilton's SPL survival bid.

Saints have suffered narrow, late defeats against both Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow in their two games before today's trip to Easter Road.

Hamilton won in Leith last Sunday to close the gap at the bottom to nine points and they could reduce it further before their trip to St Mirren Park by beating Aberdeen on Monday.

Cregg said: "Everyone probably thought Hibs would win, but we knew Hamilton are a good side and would give them a good game, and on the day they beat them.

"We just need to try to get as many points as we can, just like Hamilton will be trying. We did all right against the two best teams in the league so hopefully we can take confidence from that."