Alan Stubbs

Hibs’ Head Coach surprised the supporters yesterday by making seven changes to the starting XI that knocked Hearts out of the William Hill Scottish Cup on Tuesday but he insists that he is happy with the squad he has assembled, and has full trust in the players that are in the group.

Some questioned the tactic given Alloa’s recent form which included a draw with Rangers last weekend  however the incoming players produced a confident performance which resulted in a valuable three points in the Championship race.

Two of the players coming in, Martin Boyle and Dan Carmichael, were on the score sheet whilst assists were provided by James Keatings and  Chris Dagnall.

Speaking immediately after the game to Cliff Pike of  Hibs TV, Stubbs said: “We made the changes because we’ve got good players who are available to us, and we’ve got to rotate the squad from now until the end of the season. I think a lot of people maybe looked at the changes and thought, ‘Is that too many?’

“I’ve said all along that we have got a hugely competitive squad who are all wanting a starting place. I’ve got 19 players that could easily start in the eleven and for me the team today wasn’t a weakened team whatsoever. I could play any eleven, week in and week out, I’ve got total trust and total belief in the players I’ve got.

“We had an idea that Alloa were going to try and make it difficult for us so we made the pitch big. That’s why they narrowed their pitch and we wanted to make it the complete opposite today. We wanted width with them two (Dan Carmichael and Martin Boyle)

“We wanted to dominate the midfield area and we did that and our goals were exactly what we had talked about.

“I thought Boylie looked a threat all day and Dan Carmichael was very good in his contribution to the game. I thought Niklas (Gunnarsson) was steady enough and the lads up front worked tirelessly but the most important thing was the team’s performance.”

 

 

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.