Hibs kids make it a perfect ten

Like any new manager, Colin Calderwood is intent on stamping his own mark on Hibs, taking advantage of his first transfer window to bring a string of new faces to Easter Road.

Victor Palsson, Akpo Sodje, Martin Scott and Matt Thornhill all signed on in January and made an instant impact as they helped steer the Easter Road outfit away from the SPL danger zone, thanks to a five-game winning run.

The process of change has continued over the summer, the return of Ivan Sproule and Garry O'Connor along with the arrival of Sean O'Hanlon balanced by the departures of a host of familiar faces including Derek Riordan, Liam Miller, Colin Nish and John Rankin.

Former Celtic striker Cillian Sheridan could yet be added to Calderwood's squad before the Glasgow side travel to Edinburgh for the opening game of the season a week on Sunday, the Hibs boss determined to continue fulfilling his duties as manager despite the intense speculation linking him with a move to either Nottingham Forest or Birmingham City.

But for all the ins and outs, one thing appears not to have changed, a reliance on home-grown talent with no fewer than ten of those who played in Hibs' latest pre-season friendly, the 3-1 win over East Fife, having come through the club's much-envied youth system.

Seven started the match, O'Connor and club skipper Ian Murray back at Easter Road for a second time, Lewis Stevenson and David Wotherspoon now firmly established in the first team squad while the next generation was represented in the shape of Scott Taggart, Scott Smith and David Crawford.

And, as if to underline that commitment to "their own", Scotland Under-21 stars Paul Hanlon and Callum Booth stepped from the bench along with teenage midfielder Lewis Horner, pictured below.

Today Taggart admitted seeing so many who, like himself, had "come up through the ranks" pulling on a green-and-white shirt together had proved to be something of a comfort amid the air of uncertainty a change of manager always induces, particularly among younger players.

The 19-year-old said: "It's tough at the beginning when a new manager comes in and brings new players to the club. You know he will give those guys their chance but all you can do is continue to train hard every day, to do as well as you can in the bounce games and believe that if you are doing well then your chance will come.

"Sometimes the youngsters can be forgotten in those circumstances, but the fact so many of us have been involved in the pre-season games shows our youth academy is still producing player after player.

"The gaffer has obviously seen that and is giving the boys the chance in pre-sesaon to prove themselves. The Under-19 side which won the League and Cup double a couple of years ago was a very good team and to see so many of us making the breakthrough here at Easter Road is great.

"The likes of Garry and Ian have been away and have come back to the club but they've done so after picking up a lot of experience and now they are giving us youngsters tips every day in training to help us along."

After spending the first half of last season on loan with Second Division Ayr United - Crawford followed in his footsteps by playing at Somerset Park for the second half of the campaign - Taggart found himself thrust into action for the final three games of last season.

And if the results, defeats by Hamilton, Inverness Caley and Aberdeen, won't stir too many happy memories, Taggart insisted he'd enjoyed those games.

He said: "It was a great experience, to find myself playing in the SPL. The results weren't the best, but I enjoyed every minute. The spell I had at Ayr was good for me and you can see the improvement in David Crawford after he went there."

Now though, Taggart, who has been operating at right back but can also play in midfield, has eyes only for the start of the new season while his fingers are firmly crossed that, having played in all three pre-season matches so far, he'll be involved on the opening day.

He did his cause no harm by providing two "assists" for team-mate Matt Thornhill as Hibs fought back from a goal behind to win at New Bayview, the midfielder's double followed by a third from former Celtic striker Cillian Sheridan, who played as a trialist for the Capital side.

Taggart said: "The fans love seeing Callum charging forward down the left wing but I like to do the same on the right. I like getting the ball at my feet and getting forward. I was delighted to set up Matt for his two goals.

"We'd enjoyed most of the possession and made a lot of chances so to go behind knocked us a wee bit. But we got going again, created lots of openings and I have to be happy in having had a hand in our first two goals.

"If Cillian were to join us I think he'd be a great addition to the side. He arrived for training on Friday and looked lively."I'm 6ft 1in tall but Cillian's a lot bigger than me, a real handful for any defence."

Hibs' pre-season has, of course, taken place against a backdrop of uncertainty caused by the relentless speculation surrounding Calderwood's future although, more than three weeks since it all began, the former Scotland defender remains in situ at Easter Road.

But as far as Taggart is concerned, it's a matter of business as usual. He said: "The boys haven't really talked about it. The manager has been in taking us for training every day, we've been working hard with him and all our focus is Celtic a week on Sunday.

"As far as I am concerned that's all I'm interested in, I will be giving it my all in training and in any further games I play hoping that I'm handed a jersey for that first game."