Hibs boss admits concern over Asian Cup impact but plans in place for January reinforcements

Hibs could lose up to five international players during the tournament in Qatar

Hibs duo Lewis Miller and Martin Boyle are likely to miss a number of matches after the winter break due to Australia's involvement in the Asian Cup. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery has stressed the need to enlist reinforcements early in the new year as he plans for a prolonged period without the likes of Martin Boyle, Lewis Miller, Rocky Bushiri, and Jojo Wollacott.

Squads have yet to be finalised but the quartet are expected to be selected for Australia at the Asian Cup, and DR Congo and Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations, with both major tournaments to be staged between mid January and mid February.

Jair Tavares could also be an absentee, with Cape Verde still interested in convincing the Portuguese-born winger him to swap allegiances.

But, with other players still battling back from long-term injuries, Montgomery admits that would leave his squad stretched after the winter break when they face a busy run of Scottish Cup and Premiership fixtures.

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about January and the prospect of losing these players. You look at others coming back and you can’t rush them from these long term injuries so we may have to dip into the market and bring some reinforcements in. But every club around the world is looking at options, the phone is going to the sporting director and owner, that is normal.

“Once you filter through all of that, we need to look at where we might be a bit light because the reality is that we could lose four or five players for around four, five, six games - depending on how the tournaments go.

“To see the boys play for their country in big tournaments, that’s something we’re really proud of, as a club. But that’s when you really do need a deep squad – and we probably don’t have the depth, at the minute, not to be worried about that.

“We have to be proactive, look at when the injured boys are going to get back fit, properly. Guys like Chris Cadden, Harry McKirdy and Jake Doyle-Hayes, they’re edging closer, but we probably won’t know until nearer the time.

“The reality is the big teams in the league, Celtic and Rangers for example, I’m sure they’ll lose players as well. So throughout this league, and in leagues around the world, there will be players leaving for these tournaments. It’s something you can’t avoid. But you can plan and make sure you have enough bodies to fill those holes when it happens.”

Finances have been bolstered by the sale of Elias Melkersen to Strømsgodset for a fee of £1.2m but finding the right players to add to the numbers will be crucial, according to the man who is hoping his side can bounce back from their midweek defeat to Celtic and make an immediate return to winning ways against bottom-of-the-table Livingston.

“Brian [McDermott, the clubs’ Director of Football] is really diligent. What he does is filter a lot of stuff, because you can imagine the number of players who want to come here. He focuses on the realistic ones, the players who might be an option because there are a lot of players out there on these data systems, but the reality is a lot are unrealistic because of fees, loan fees, permanence and salaries.

“Once we get that short list, we spend more time looking into them. But every club is doing the same.”