Lee Johnson says Tam McManus' claims about Hibs loan deals are valid - but that won't stop him making them.
The former Easter Road attacker wrote in a newspaper column this week that his ex-employers should focus on bringing in youngsters than temporary solutions. Hibs have Elie Youan, Momodou Bojang, Will Wish, Ryan Schofield and Mykola Kukharevych on loan deals at the minute but Johnson, speaking ahead of his side's Premiership match with St Mirren on Saturday, says each transfer needs looked at with perspective.
He explained: "I think he's right in terms of the big picture. Of course, you'd much rather a youth player coming through, rather than take a loan. But I think there's context to each individual loan you end up going to. Sometimes the public know the context and sometimes they don't. We've got Elie Youan. That one has the potential to be converted, so it becomes a kind of 'try before you buy'.
READ MORE: Hibs youngsters plan French adventure joy after Ethan Laidlaw goal provides UEFA Youth League hope
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"I like them, if I'm honest. Because you either lay out a fortune and realise they're not good enough, or you do the 'try before you buy' where you get to see the person and personality more.
"Momodou Bojang is another one of those. We've also go Mykola Kurachevich, which isn't a 'try before you buy' but I think is a brilliant loan. It gives us something different which we couldn't get or couldn't afford someone of that stature.
"And that's an important thing about this loan. If you get a ‘loan’ loan, they have to be better than what you've got in the building and what you can develop. With Will Fish, I think if you look at Ryan Porteous' situation.
"I always want four centre-halves. We've got some good centre-backs coming through. Jacob Blaney has done very well coming through. But I think that frame of a 6ft 4in defender that we've had our eye on for a while, given the fact there's always a risk of losing Porteous, is a dynamic. My teams have always been stronger when I've had good back-ups at centre-back.”
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