BRANDON FLOWERS
Lenny: I love watching blooming Barker rip up defences like Henrik and Didier did but he’s so hot I can’t afford to keep him permanently
NEIL LENNON insists he made a career out of doing the dirty work that gave Henrik Larsson free rein to become a Celtic icon.
Now the Hibs boss has vowed to give Brandon Barker the same licence to torment defences.
The Manchester City loan star was a shining light at Easter Road in midweek, coming off the bench after 50 minutes then running Rangers ragged despite Hibs going down 2-1.
He hit the post twice and slammed a drive just over the bar in what Lennon called the 21-year-old’s best performance in a Hibs jersey.
The Easter Road gaffer is hopeful that is a sign of things to come and reckons Barker is the sort of maverick, pacy talent that is impossible to coach – but can also be impossible to defend against. He said: “Brandon is a throwback. He wants to get to the byeline, he wants to get inside and he has that dynamic burst of pace to take players on. “Some people say his end product is not great but that’s nitpicking completely. When you have three players hanging off you and are running 40 yards with the ball at that pace, it’s a very difficult thing to do. “He is a really exciting player I’ve admired for a long time. On Wednesday you saw why. He was breathtaking. I can’t coach that. “It was always my job to pick up the bits for the Larssons, the Didier Agathes of this world – that’s what I was paid to do. “Nine times out of 10 they got it right. You just let them play and a lot of stuff Brandon did the other night he got right. I just wish he was ours permanently!” As much as he would love to sign Barker, the financial realities are stark when it comes to competing with clubs south of the border. That was emphasised this week when Lenny revealed Hibs were priced out of a bid for Motherwell striker Louis Moult, who instead joined Preston for £500,000.
But he is hopeful Barker’s progress, allied with Partick Roberts’s Celtic exploits, have shown Pep Guardiola the benefits of sending talented prospects to Scotland.
Lennon added: “You’re talking Man City here. You’re talking wages. You’re talking transfer fee. So it might be just a little bit out of our remit.
“We were quite keen on Louis Moult but it’s very difficult to compete. We’re enjoying having Brandon here for the moment and he’s enjoying being here.
“We have a good relationship with Man City and would like that to continue. Brandon has shown this is a good environment for some of the younger ones to come and prosper. Celtic have done it over the years as well.
“He’s improving and seems to enjoy the big games. He has been fantastic, absolutely brilliant.”
Barker’s efforts against Rangers were the tip of the iceberg for Hibs, who left Easter Road wondering how they didn’t get at least a point against Graeme Murty’s stubborn side.
Wes Foderingham turned in a man-of-the-match display, with several fine saves, Simon Murray missed an open goal and Hibs should have had a penalty.
But rather than be infuriated by the defeat, it has only made Lennon more convinced his side are ready to batter an opponent in the near future.
He said: “People say it’s better to be lucky than good. Well I’d rather be good than lucky because your luck runs out eventually. We can’t keep playing as well as that without winning games. We just need to find the net.
“We’re due a hammering to somebody. That’s the third game now the opposition goalkeeper has won man of the match.
“We know we’re not scoring enough goals when we’re in the ascendancy. We’ve had 3-0 a couple of times but we haven’t hit home with a four or five.
“I’m not saying we’re going to do that at Aberdeen but we’re creating enough chances to do that. We need to start getting the second goal quickly and putting teams away earlier.
“We could have done that on Wednesday night, easily.”
Hibs are on a run of one win in five Premiership games but can close the gap to Aberdeen to just three points today.
But Lennon is adamant this afternoon’s battle in the Granite City will not be decisive in what promises to be a fraught fight for second spot.
Lennon, who confirmed Hibs remain in talks with Dons and Hearts target Niall McGinn, added: “You don’t want the gap to stretch to nine points.
“But we were 10 points behind Aberdeen around October and we got it back to a point at one stage.
“If we lose at Pittodrie it is not the end of the world but ideally I want to win.
“Then the positive slant is that you’re only three behind and they have to play Celtic, while Rangers have to play Celtic. So there’s still a lot of football to be played.”