David Gray has confirmed that he has partially recalled Hibs talent Rory Whittaker from his loan at The Spartans.
Whittaker is one of the Easter Road side’s top academy prospects having already played 14 first-team matches.
The 17-year-old is the club’s youngest-ever player and was sent out on loan for the first time in the summer to gain valuable experience in senior football.
It was confirmed in August that Whittaker’s loan spell would run until January 2025 but Hibs boss Gray has decided to bring him back to play development squad games.
That’s because Whittaker is not getting enough game time in League Two to satisfy Gray, as reported by the Edinburgh Evening News. He’s only made one start and eight substitute appearances this season.
Starlet Rory Whittaker back at Hibs
Explaining the decision to partially recall Whittaker and confirming that his loan at The Spartans won’t be extended beyond January, Gray said: “Well, it’s just because he’s not playing.
“There’s a relationship between the clubs, and David Marshall speaks to The Spartans manager regularly. He is not playing the minutes you would want at Spartans.
“For his development, you need to be playing as often as you can. So they’ve been accommodating him so he can play in games here, as long as they OK it.
“It benefits him from getting that regular game time, because he’s not getting it when he’s out on loan, which is the desired effect of what you want when you go and play men’s football.
“But at that age, in that development age, you want to play as many games as you can.
“If you can get a game a week, it’s even better. It was good that we were able to get the green light for him to play for us, while he trains with them at night and does his gym work in at East Mains.”
Malky Mackay said The Spartans was ‘right’ fit for Whittaker
Things are not going to plan for Whittaker at the club he represented before moving to Hibs as a young boy.
Hibs sporting director Malky Mackay was enthused by the loan in August and said it was the right move for the teenager. It seems the decision has fell flat on its face.
Mackay told the official Hibs website upon the loan confirmation: “This is an important development loan for Rory and gives him the opportunity to play regularly at a competitive level.
“We do a lot of work on our player development plans and this loan will enable Rory to develop certain areas of his game, whilst show off some of his strengths. He will continue to train with us at HTC, which means he still gets time with our coaches, and we can constantly monitor his progress.
“We believe Spartans are exactly the right kind of football club to work with for Rory’s development and I look forward to working with them on it.”