John Hughes reveals his Hibs hotline to ex-manager Collins

JOHN Hughes has revealed how he regularly picks the brains of former Hibernian manager John Collins in pursuit of success at Easter Road.

Despite Collins resigning from the club in December 2007, he is happy to act as a sounding board to Hughes. The pair both live in East Lothian and are members at Craigielaw Golf Club.

Hughes says they have shared a bond since their time together at Celtic in season 1995-96 and hold the same football philosophies, namely passing football.

Collins, the 58-times capped former Scotland international, led Hibs to their first piece of silverware in 16 years when they defeated Kilmarnock 5-1 to lift the 2007 League Cup.

While a player revolt overshadowed his time in Edinburgh, Hughes has the highest admiration for the former Monaco, Everton and Fulham midfielder. Ahead of Hibs' third Dutch tour match at Ado Den Haag tonight, he said: "I still speak to John, all the time.

"He is a very, very close friend of mine. He stays down at the golf course where we are both members. I just love picking his brains, because the two of us see the game in the same way. He is full of encouragement. John is someone that I think has got a great philosophy on how the game is played, I saw it first hand with him as a player. He was fantastic at Celtic. He had everything, was a fanatic in the gym and knew that he wanted to pass. You pick up wee pointers and try and add it to your game."

On what went wrong for Collins at Hibs, Hughes added: "He came in here, it was his first job, and he maybe went at it too quick. To let it evolve and get it going your way, you sometimes need to step back. If John wants a job, I'm sure he'll definitely get one soon."

Meanwhile, Derek Riordan, who marked the birth of his first child, daughter Ruby, with a trademark free-kick in Monday's 1-0 win over NEC Nijmegen, is desperate to get involved in Hibs' Europa League campaign, "It's been a great week, I'm a very happy man," he said as he looked forward to next week's qualifying tie against Videoton or Maribor.

"I'm excited at the prospect of European football. The incentive is there for us to try and get into the group stage."