Jack Ross hopes to have an almost-full squad to pick from this weekend when Hibs head to Hampden.
The Hibees will contest a League Cup semi-final this Saturday when they take on St Johnstone, a second trip to Hampden this term after the Scottish Cup semi-final with Hearts in October.
Hibs face St Johnstone this weekend. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group via Getty Images)
Looking to do better than that painful defeat, Ross says he will have plenty of options: “We have the bulk of the squad back fit and healthy which is good. It’s another week’s training for Scott Allan, Ofir Marciano has returned to training and Joe Newell should hopefully be available. We are in a healthier position.
“As a manager you obviously want your full squad available to you but it is rarely the case, especially as the season unfolds. We have recruited Matt [Macey], Jackson [Irvine] and Chris [Cadden] and that has helped us in terms of the depth of the squad we maybe hadn’t had.
“That has coincided with a lot of players returning to fitness so we are in a good position, a healthy position going into a game of this importance.”
Hibs have a fuller squad. (Photo by Mark Scates/SNS Group via Getty Images)
With St Mirren and Livingston the other teams left in this competition, Hibs are favourites for cup glory, a tag which Ross isn’t bothered about : “It’s okay for us because one of the clear ambitions we had from day one of pre-season was to win silverware in this campaign,
“So we have put expectancy upon ourselves from the first moment as players and staff. We have had this constant drive towards it. It’s not easy, it’s relentless, it’s tiring, in terms of your work to do it.
“Now we are in the semi-finals of another cup, it wouldn’t have mattered which teams were involved at this stage. That expectancy and ambition to win silverware has been there and will continue to be there.
Expectancy is there.. (Photo by Mark Scates/SNS Group via Getty Images)
“It’s completely irrelevant to me whether we are seen as favourites, second favourites, outsiders, whatever it may be. It’s just about us affecting what we can, which is about controlling our performance and hopefully being on the right side of the result.”
NTOF now offers a YouTube channel featuring exclusive interviews, post-match discussion, in-depth debate, and much more – LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and don’t miss any of our videos.