Hanlon urges Hibs to stand strong on Allan

PAUL HANLON has urged Hibernian to stay strong in the face of a concerted offensive from Rangers to try to force through the transfer of Scott Allan.

The Easter Road outfit issued a firm “hands off” to Rangers on Thursday, with head coach Alan Stubbs even phoning Ibrox counterpart Mark Warburton to tell him Allan was not for sale.

However, with further bids since, and the player appearing keen on a move to his boyhood heroes, Rangers seem determined to land their target.

The matter has provided an intriguing backdrop to the meeting of the clubs in today’s Petrofac Training Cup tie in the capital.

Hanlon is hopeful Hibs can ultimately hang on to their star performer for the coming promotion push.

The defender said: “Everyone’s just kind of asking [Scott] what’s happening and he’s not saying a lot. Hibs are not selling him; that’s all I’ve heard so far. Hopefully it stays that way.

“You saw last season how important he is.

“It’s definitely a confidence boost for the fans to hear that Hibs are in a strong position to say ‘no’.”

Hanlon insists Hibs took bags of confidence from the tie between the teams at the same stage of the competition 12 months ago, despite the capital outfit losing at Ibrox, and expects today to provide both clubs with another insight into what could lie ahead this season.

Asked about Warburton’s assertion the match was just another part of Rangers’ pre-season preparations, Hanlon added: “If that’s the way they think is best to plan their season then that’s fair enough. If I’m picked to play against Glasgow Rangers, I’m going to give it my all. It will be a good indication of where we are at. We’ve all worked really hard through the pre-season.