BY DARREN JOHNSTONE – Capital City Press
Hibs head coach Alan Stubbs has told his players to follow new signing John McGinn’s lead as they bid to bounce back from Saturday’s opening day defeat at Dumbarton.
Former Celtic defender Stubbs was less than impressed by the performances of some of his players as they collapsed to a 2-1 loss in the first game of the Championship campaign.
However, one positive for Stubbs was the encouraging display of Scotland Under-21 captain McGinn after he gave the midfielder his debut as a 56th minute substitute.
McGinn made his first outing in four months after being accidentally speared in the thigh by Steven Thompson in a training ground prank at St Mirren in April.
Stubbs said: “I thought John was very good when he came on, he gave us an injection and he looked like a player who knew exactly what he was doing.
“From his point of view it was a positive start and a couple of others need to take note of that.
“I thought he gave us a bit of impetus when he came on, you could see that he is an intelligent, clever footballer.
“We have to be careful we don’t throw him in too soon.
“He does look like he has real quality but one or two others need to step up to the plate because a couple of performances on Saturday were not acceptable.”
Hibs will look to register their first points at home to Morton this weekend and Stubbs has warned his players that he will not hesitate to make changes.
He added: “There were too many not on it. They need to look at themselves and get back on it.
“Otherwise, you look at the bench and there are players coming back and they won’t find themselves in the team.
“It’s as simple as that. When you get the jersey you have to make sure you perform and keep the jersey.”
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