Hanlon coy on title race but says Mallan can be big shot
● Defender backs dead-ball specialist to keep hitting the target for Hibs and earn Scotland call
Paul Hanlon is reserving judgment on whether Hibernian can be realistic title challengers this season and says it is too early to say if the side will be able to effectively and consistently reach or even surpass thesamestandardstheysetlast termwithouttalismanicfigures like John Mcginn.
But what he is quick to attest to is the threat possessed by summer signing Stevie Mallan and his potential to follow his midfield predecessor’s footstepsandearnfullinternational recognition.
Thescotlandunder-21starhas been a revelation since joining the Easter Road club, netting nine goals already and weighing in with countless assists from set-pieces and Hanlon believes he will be a prize asset as the Leith club starts to build momentum.
“If you lose the likes of John Mcginn out of your team then it’s going to take time to adjust. He was a massive player for us andhe’sshownsincehelefthow good he is,” said Hanlon.
“But we’ve recruited well and theboyswhowerealreadyhere have stepped up and shared around the responsibility and kicked on as a team and shown we can play without him.”
After a Europa League adventure, the focus is back on domestic form and although it was a slightly stuttering start to the Premiership campaign, Hibs find themselves second in the table, ahead of Celtic and Rangers and trailing city rivals Hearts by just two points. But next up are trips to Celtic Park and Tynecastle, which is why Hanlonisbidinghistimebefore making any bold predictions.
0 Paul Hanlon promotes his Darts Day as part of his testimonial year.
“We had a good start under Yogi [John Hughes] and under Pat Fenlon we were top in November but it was never spoken of as a title race,” said Hanlon. “It is probably getting spoken about more now because Celtic and Rangers havehadmorestutteringstarts than we’ve had but it is still too early to talk of what might happen. I think you have to be well over halfway through the fixtures to decide what might happen.
“We haven’t played any of the so-called bigger teams so we have to keep our performance levels high and see where it takes us. We’ve got a tough two games coming up after the international break and a really tough December with a lot of big games. We can only play who is in front of us and we’ve managed to take a good number of points so far but Parkhead and Tynecastle will probably be a real measure of what kind of level we’re at.”
Mallan is one who has risen tothechallengesuperblysofar, showingclinicalaccuracyfrom dead-ballsituationsoutsidethe box.
“I was in the stand for the Hamilton Accies game [on Saturday] due to injury,” said Hanlon, whose loyalty to the club is being rewarded with a testimonial year, “and the gaffer touched on it after the game whenhesaidyou’redisappointed if Stevie Mallan doesn’t hit the target. He is so accurate and the way he strikes the ball is incredible. His second goal against Hamilton Accies didn’t fly into the net but it’s out of the keeper’s reach.
“Thequalityisgreatbutit’sthe consistency, it’s always on the money. We have scored a few goals from set-pieces already.
“Intermsoflong-rangeshooting I can’t remember seeing anyone like him in Scotland. He is deadly from 25 yards and hopefully he’s the next one who progresses into the full Scotland set-up. He practices quite a lot of free-kicks after training and it just shows that if you practice enough you can do what you want.”
But having started the season so well, the pressure is on the newcomer to produce the goods when facing the defending champions and in highoctane occasions such as the derby. “Yes, I think that’s probably the next test for him,” said Hanlon. “He has done well for us but that’s where you are judged, against the top teams in the league, but I don’t see any reason why he can’t.
“He is a confident boy and when he gets into those shooting positions he’s deadly.” Aberdeen have called for greater “transparency” on ticket allocations for major cup clashes at Hampden after forcing the SPFL to give the Red Army a bigger share for this month’s Betfred Cup semi-final showdown with Rangers.
The Dons were initially awarded just 16,800 seats for the 28 October meeting with Steven Gerrard’s side. But they could now be cheered on by 20,300 fans – with more able to access the best seats in the National Stadium’s south and east stands – after persuading the SPFL to give them a larger cut. Aberdeen director Rob Wicks said: “We at Aberdeen are calling for more transparency within the game in Scotland. Our fans deserve to know these facts. We must put fans first. We sincerely hope the SPFL will have learnt from this experience and that we don’t see a repeat.
Tickets for Hearts’ Betfred Cup semi-final against Celtic at BT Murrayfield on 28 October go on sale at 9am today initially to season-ticket holders, with a general sale to follow next Thursday. Hearts have been allocated 30,000 tickets. Ryan Giggs has eased Real Madrid’s fears over Gareth Bale despite ruling the Wales forward out of the friendly with Spain tonight.
Bale has been troubled by a groin injury and was forced off in the closing stages of Real’slaligadefeatatalaves on Saturday. But Wales boss Giggs is still hopeful Bale, pictured, will make the Nations League tie away to the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, and predicted he would be fit for Real’s next game against Levante.
“Gareth has got a little bit of muscle fatigue and he won’t be involved against Spain,” Giggs said. “We don’t want to take any risks and we are monitoring it every day. I’d say he is 50-50 at the minute for the Ireland game. He feels good but we have to weigh up the risk whether he can be part of the game on Tuesday.”