Lennon will cope with any player exits, says Jackson
THREE loan players set to report back to their parent clubs. One key midfielder out of contract and assessing his options. Another widely expected to move on — subject to the right offer being tabled.
For Neil Lennon, the desire to tweak his Hibernian squad this summer is one thing. The prospect of being forced into major surgery after such a fine season back in the top flight is another matter altogether.
Despite all the optimistic noises emanating from Easter Road about the prospect of keeping together the side which finished fourth last season, there remains much work to be done.
Florian Kamberi (below), a nine-goal revelation after joining on loan from Grasshoppers in January, may be willing to make the move to Edinburgh permanent but the clubs have yet to agree a six-figure fee.
Dylan McGeouch, who ended his best year yet as a professional by winning full international honours for Scotland against Peru, has interest from Blackburn and Aberdeen among others.
About to enter the final year of his contract, the price tag on John McGinn’s head has just reached its optimal level.
Scott Allan has one year to go on his Celtic contract while Jamie Maclaren’s lucrative deal with German side Darmstadt is prohibitive to him returning to Leith.
For one former Easter Road hero, though, the prospect of such a summer state of flux does not induce the same sense of panic it may once have.
Darren Jackson, who led the line between 1992 and 1997, believes the track record in recruitment of the man presently at the helm makes the prospect of the Leith club suddenly going into reverse gear highly unlikely.
‘It won’t faze Lenny,’ said Jackson. ‘He would be disappointed if they left but he’s been through it before and will go through it many times again.
‘You just have to make sure that your recruitment is right. He is always thinking ahead and evolving. He’ll already be thinking: “If I do this and that, then I can bring him in and let him go”.
‘It is frustrating but it’s at every level in the world. If Harry Kane and Dele Alli do well at Tottenham then Real Madrid want them.
‘If someone comes in and makes an exceptional offer, you’re under pressure to sell. If players do well, it attracts bigger clubs.’
There is little Lennon can do about McGeouch’s first injury-free campaign coming in the final year of his deal.
Nor can he keep McGinn’s talent a hidden secret when he has been among the Premiership’s best performers in the past ten months.
The case of Kamberi, though, does appear to give the club a real chance of landing a proven talent within budget. Powerful, intelligent and with an eye for goal, there is a sense the club owe its supporters to get this one over the line.
‘He’s been fantastic,’ said Jackson. ‘When fans look at it, they see goals but I like the way he plays, his hold-up play and link up with John and Scott. He’s a good size and works extremely hard. He’d be a fantastic signing.’
Allan, too, would seem to be an attainable property. Since signing a four-year deal with Celtic in 2015, he has made twice as many appearances in loan spells with Rotherham, Dundee and Hibs than for his parent club.
Celtic are hardly likely to let the talented midfielder walk out of the door for nothing but nor does he appear to have any future under Brendan Rodgers.
‘He has great ability,’ said Jackson. ‘The Hibs fans love him and he seems to enjoy it. I don’t know if he will go back but when he had Dylan and John, he had a licence to do his own stuff.’
A team in the proper sense of the word, no one was knocked over in the rush to take Lennon to task purely on account of the fact his side fell just short of the ‘second best team in the country’ label he had put on them a year previously. Good enough to beat Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts, substance walked hand-in-hand with style throughout last season. ‘Lenny believes what he says,’ stated Jackson. ‘He wouldn’t come away with a stupid statement just to wind people up.
‘They could have been second. There isn’t much between Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs.’
The Leith club finished 18 points ahead of their city rivals, making Hearts boss Craig Levein’s jibe about ‘natural order’ being restored after a Scottish Cup victory seem hollow. ‘There looks a big gap but I’m sure Craig will sign a few and try to get Hearts back to where they once were,’ said Jackson, who also spent two years at Tynecastle.
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