Hibernian manager Lee Johnson hailed Elie Youan’s work-rate in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over St Mirren, although he admitted the unpredictable forward can leave him tearing his hair out in frustration at times.
The 24-year-old – on loan from Swiss side St Gallen – scored his seventh goal of the season after just four minutes and had supporters in raptures with his willingness to track back and make tackles.
“We expect that from our wingers,” said Johnson. “You’ve got to work hard. I’m pretty critical when they don’t, so when they do it’s fantastic.
“We call it (being) a ball thief when they nick it on the way back in. Elie’s earned his rest over the weekend because of the physical effort he put in, and that’s what Elie has got to do.
“He can frustrate the life out of us at times – I’m sure he even frustrates you guys (reporters), who are impartial – but he’s also got that real threat about him and can peg a team back and he can run all day.
“He’s still young and he’s got quite unique attributes so we just need to keep developing him.”
Hibs are keen to sign Youan permanently, and Johnson admits if the attacker was able to hit his best form consistently, he would be out of their reach.
“If he put it all together we wouldn’t have him,” he smiled. “That’s what we’ve got to try and do before we sell him!
“It’s difficult for me to talk about his contract but we do have an option to buy. Every negotiation is different. Some are done in advance and then put in a drawer, and some still need to be done. Obviously that’s not my bag, that’s for the CEO to deal with.”
Will Fish scored Hibs’ second before Alex Greive hit back for the Buddies who were unable to force an equaliser despite piling on the pressure in the closing stages.
The defeat saw Saints slip three points behind the fifth-placed Hibees in the battle for European places. Stephen Robinson’s men host fourth-placed Hearts next Saturday.
Robinson of his team’s Euro prospects: “They aren’t as good as they were before the game. You can pull that back very quickly, there are 12 points still to play for.
“We’ve got Hearts at home next week and we’ve been very good at home. We need to press more aggressively than we did in the first 20 minutes (against Hibs) and hope and pray we don’t make individual errors.”
Clement wants ruthless Rangers after nervy win over Hearts
Rangers boss Philippe Clement called on his team to show greater ruthlessness after they were made to work for a 1-0 win over Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Cyriel Dessers put the Gers ahead after just six minutes at Ibrox, diverting James Tavernier's effort past visiting goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
However, Clement's team failed to build on that quick start and inched over the line amid a tense atmosphere, moving back to within nine points of pacesetters Celtic and Aberdeen.
Speaking after the game, Clement acknowledged his players are fatigued after a gruelling run of fixtures but added they must start taking their chances.
"We made too many wrong choices with the ball and became too sloppy," Clement said.
"It's the end of a very busy period, though, with a lot of travelling and they're all human beings, not robots.
"We missed scoring the second goal and we know that until you get that goal the other team stays in the game, so I want us to kill the belief of the opponent faster.
"I'm very satisfied with the result and the deserved three points. We didn't show the same quality in the second half and we didn't finish off the game. We had a few chances, but it stays nervous until the last second."
Rangers host Dundee United after the international break, while Celtic visit Hearts and Aberdeen travel to St. Mirren.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnock
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnoc
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
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