JC has worked wonders at Hibs

Aug 5 2007 ROB MACLEAN

HE'S done all right, that John Collins.

Barely in the door at Hibs, the rookie manager ended the club's 16-year wait for silverware by landing last season's CIS Cup.

He has also managed to bring in almost £10million for four players, making Easter Road a virtual debt-free zone.

And by the time JC's first year in charge is up Hibs will have taken up residence in a state-of-the-art training complex near Ormiston.

So everything seems to be going swimmingly. The club is a picture of stability.

But what sort of team will take to the pitch at Tynecastle tomorrow night for the Edinburgh derby?

Is Collins ready to be judged now that he has signed seven new players, with two more to come, and enjoyed a full summer of preparation?

And will there be a repeat of the dressing-room dust-up which gave the Hibees gaffer an early test of his man-management skills?

There are lots of questions about what happens next. But I'm not so sure there are too many answers.

It seems to be a bit early for judgement day when Collins has lost a top-quality central midfield in Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson plus the best right-back in the country in Steven Whittaker.

This season he's also without pacy winger Ivan Sproule and striker Chris Killen who scored 15 goals in the first half of last term before getting injured.

That's half a team and, while Collins wasn't too distraught at all the departures, he has lost a lot of top-level experience.

Nineteen-year-old Kevin McCann is a full-back of rich promise but he can't yet claim to be as good as Ibrox new boy Whittaker.

Lewis Stevenson (below) is 19 as well and became a regular last season. But he doesn't yet have the midfield presence of former skipper Thomson - another who moved to Rangers.

Brian Kerr has arrived from Motherwell and hopes to recapture the sort of form which won him Scotland recognition a few years ago.

But he'd be the first to admit that he can't compare to Brown who has blown away Celtic fans since his summer move along the M8.

In some areas, though, Hibs will be better off. Goalkeeping howlers have cost them dear over the last couple of years with Simon Brown, Zibi Malkowski and Andy McNeil all donning the clown's outfit.

Young Belgian keeper Yves Ma-Kalambay hopes to cut out the calamities and his pre-season displays have been promising.

He's a towering figure in the box and boasts an excellent schooling at PSV Eindhoven and Chelsea where there was no disgrace in failing to oust Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini.

Another exciting arrival for the Hibs fans is winger Alan O'Brien who is being billed as Sproule with added composure. O'Brien has won five Irish caps and Newcastle United were reluctant to let the youngster leave.

From Collins' former club Monaco comes 20-year-old central defender Torben Joneleit on loan.

Injury has limited his pre-season build-up but I'm told he's calm and assured at the back. Anyone who plays for the German Under-21 team must have something going for him.

There are some other intriguing arrivals as well. Striker Clayton Donaldson is 22 and scored 18 goals last season as York got to the English Conference play-offs.

Filipe Morais is a Portuguese Under-21 internationalist who had four years at Chelsea but was loaned out from Millwall to St Johnstone last season.

And Thierry Gatheussi is a Cameroon international who has played at the top level in France and can cover right across the back four.

Collins isn't finished yet and there are two more players still to be recruited. Expect a striker and another midfielder to come in.

Young players will continue to be promoted as well and it's difficult to argue with that successful policy.

Following McCann, Stevenson and Steven Fletcher into the top team could be Damon Gray, Darren McCormack, Ross Campbell, Ross Chisholm, and Keegan Ayre.

But there's more promise than finished product about the Hibs squad and it's hard to imagine that they'll be any more consistent in the SPL than last season.

At times they played the best football in Scotland and could have won both cups. But they under-achieved in the league.

Collins wants Hibs to be both entertaining and competitive. That might be easier said than done.

But can you really criticise a club which was more than £15m in debt not so long ago and must now be on the point of shifting the figures from red to black?

It might be frustrating for the Hibs supporters at times but their club is building for the long term unlike capital rivals Hearts.

And Collins is building a pretty impressive managerial reputation at the same time.