GAULD LANDS AT HIBS AND TARGETS TOP FOUR
RYAN GAULD last night vowed to fire Hibernian back to the top four of the SPFL Premiership. The Sporting Lisbon midfielder completed a six-month loan deal hours after a Florian Kamberi goal secured a 1-0 win over local side Al Wasl in Dubai. Gauld trained with the Edinburgh side before the red tape holding up the deal finally cleared. And last night he said: ‘Hibs represented the best opportunity for me with the way the team likes to play. It’s the best fit for me. ‘In the last couple of years, Hibs have taken on a lot of young boys and given them a platform to go and show what they can do, with the likes of John McGinn, Dylan McGeouch and Scott Allan. ‘It’s a great club to play for, one of the biggest in Scotland, and I’m just looking forward to getting started. ‘Hopefully, we can push Hibs back into the top six, where we belong, and then even further into the top four.’ Hibs manager Neil Lennon said: ‘I’m excited about bringing him in. I like him. ‘He’s a talent with a good centre of gravity, balance. He can beat a man, see a pass and, hopefully, we can get some more goals out of him as well. ‘It’s just that little burst of creativity we have been missing. I think Ryan will bring that. ‘He’s learned a different culture, a different style of play. He’ll have learned a lot because Portuguese football is very tactical and he’ll come back a more-rounded individual.’ Meanwhile, Hibs striker Jamie Maclaren scored his first international goal as Australia kept alive their hopes of retaining the Asian Cup with a 1-0 win over Palestine in Dubai. Graham Arnold’s side bounced back from their opening round defeat to Jordan with a much-needed Group B victory.
ST MIRREN have signed goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky on an 18-month contract. The 28-year-old, who previously played for Slovan Liberec, is Oran Kearney’s third addition of the transfer window.