Hibs flop Harry McKirdy has landed himself in hot bother yet again with boss Lee Johnson - after a social media post struck a nerve with the man in the hot seat.
McKirdy joined Hibs from Swindon on deadline day in August, with many excited over his arrival after a strong season with the Robins saw him score 24 goals in just 44 games at the age of 25.
But his career has been nothing short of underwhelming at Easter Road since his move back in the summer. 19 games and 646 minutes of football have resulted in no goals or assists for the London-born attacker, with just five starts representing a drastically poor season for the former Aston Villa youngster.
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But it isn't just his performances that have wound Hibs fans up the wrong way. Earlier this season, Chelsea supporter McKirdy said 'you're not wrong' in reply to a Swindon fan who had told him to return to the County Ground on Instagram. And it appears he has been at it again by posting: "Chels. Nina. Golf. Hibs" - which largely mirrors Gareth Bale's "Wales. Golf. Madrid" flag that infamously angered the Los Blancos faithful.
The Easter Road faithful are quickly running out of patience with McKirdy, who continues to cut an ostracised figure in Leith by the day. And Johnson has said that he has had a conversation with his fellow countryman over his conduct with the business end of the season fully underway.
Johnson said on Thursday: “It looked like it was an equivalent of the Bale scenario. My mentality is always to protect the team. That's my sole motivation, my sole agenda. What I want is players to respect their team-mates. So yes, conversations have been had and are being had at the moment with Harry.
"Do I think he's a bad lad? Absolutely not. Do I think he’s emotive, particularly at those times on a Saturday night? Yes. We'll decide what the best course of action with him is, not only for the good of the team but also to support players like that.
“There's a lot of stick that flies about on the back of social media comments like that and these lads are desperate to play, they're desperate to perform and there's a lot of pressure on them. There are two sides to it. We've got systems in place to protect our players, but also to reprimand if we feel that's required.
"It's a dynamic now isn't it? Whether it's emotional, or a hacking, or purposeful. It is a dynamic in the modern world and we have specialist teams within the club to deal with that type of thing. A lot of this we've set up for these reasons.
"I talked a lot about discipline at the start of the year and we've put these processes in place now because when I speak to Harry McKirdy, I want to have a football conversation. I don't want to speak about any misdemeanours, or potential misdemeanours. I want to drive the footballer and help them become the best version of themselves.
"At the same time I can only pick 11 players plus subs and in a squad that's big you're never going to have everybody happy, which I don't mind - as long as they're focused and professional."
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