Lee Johnson reckons Hibs have the best forward line in the Premiership outside the Old Firm – even better than city rivals Hearts.
Ahead of today’s Scottish Cup Edinburgh derby, the Leith boss shut down talk of a major gap between the two capital clubs. The Jambos are currently 11 points ahead of Hibs in the league table and haven’t lost a derby fixture since 2019.
Robbie Neilson can call on Lawrence Shankland, Barrie McKay, Josh Ginnelly, Liam Boyce and Garang Kuol up front – but Johnson is insists that when he’s got Kevin Nisbet, Martin Boyle, Aiden McGeady, Elie Youan and Harry McKirdy fit and firing then only Rangers and Celtic have more quality in attack. He said: “Are Hearts a bit more advanced than us in their journey? I’d say yes. But that doesn’t mean we can’t bridge the gap or have a really good January and come out a better squad.
"I believe our front players, fully-fit with a pre-season behind them, are as good as any outside the Old Firm – and probably the best. Unfortunately, we’ve not had that and still don’t.
“With our resources we’ve done extremely well with that front six or seven, which includes Harry McKirdy, Elie and Mykola Kukharevych. If I’d written it down in the summer, it would have been McGeady, Nisbet, Kyle Magennis and Boyle, knowing we had a chance to sign Martin.
“But it never happens like that. You can write a team down then someone gets injured or someone steps up for you.”
Meanwhile, Johnson reckons James Jeggo is exactly what Hibs need as the 30-year-old sealed a switch from Eupen last night on an 18-month deal. The midfielder has had spells in Australia, Greece, Austria and Belgium.
Johnson said: “He brings experience, we look forward to working with him.”
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