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Hibernian coach warned to stick to winning team as Kujabi, others line up to impress

Feb 10, 2012, 2:08 PM | Article By: Sainabou Kujabi-Njie

Pat Fenlon, Hibernian manager, is faced with a stiff dilemma to make a first-time selection come Saturday’s Scottish Premier League clash with Aberdeen following his deadline transfer window signings.

With confirmation that one of the late arrivals, Jorge Claros, has received his work visa on Thursday and will be available to make his Hibernian debut on Saturday against Aberdeen, clearly shows that the fight for place in the club’s midfield has intensified, the Scotsman has revealed.

The Honduran, who is clear for selection by Pat Fenlon, presents the Easter Road manager with a dilemma: whether to throw his most prestigious January signing into the fight, or to stick with the tried and experienced players as the recent combination of Lewis Stevenson and Isaiah Osbourne

The temptation for Fenlon to plunge his new charge into action should be outweighed by a pressure to stick with a winning midfield, says Paul Kane, former Hibs midfielder on the Scotsman.

Young star Jorge Claros has targeted the “right results” to help lift Hibs from the foot of the Scottish premier league table where they are sitting on 18 points after becoming one of four deadline day arrivals at Easter Road.

Against Kilmarnock last weekend, Doyle scored the game’s only goal, while fellow new arrivals Soares, Pa Saikou Kujabi and Matt Doherty also impressed, the Scotsman pointed out.

Twenty-five-year-old Kujabi, who signed an 18-month contract with Hibernian following spells at Austrian clubs Grazer AK, SV Ried and FSV Frankfurt in Germany is also part of the list after putting up an impressive game on his debut last weekend and was core in sending Hibs to the quarterfinals of the Scottish cup.

The Gambian left-back, nicknamed the “Gambian Roberto Carlos”, is branded a free-kick specialist.

While he’ll welcome the option of fielding latecomer Claros, Fenlon has a headache ahead of Saturday with suspensions of three key players. The good news for him is that these players’ absence could be compensated with players such as Garry O’Connor, Eoin Doyle and Roy O’Donovan, who are all available.