Scotsman
Hughes wants more Hibs stars to earn an international call-up
Published Date: 03 October 2009
By DAVID HARDIE
HIBS boss John Hughes today claimed that watching eight team-mates
leave to play for their countries will spur more of his Easter Road
stars to join the international jet-set.
The Edinburgh club will have players in virtually every corner of the
globe over the course of next week with Derek Riordan, newly recalled
to the Scotland squad, facing the 12,000-mile round trip to Japan.
Sol Bamba will clock up almost as many air miles as he flies to
Blantyre in Malawi for the Ivory Coast’s penultimate World Cup
qualifying match while Moroccan aces Merouane Zemmama and Abdessalam
Benjelloun will be travelling to Libreville in Gabon in a bid to
resuscitate their countries hopes of making next summer’s finals in
South Africa.
Meanwhile, Yves Ma-Kalambay will be part of the Belgian squad
preparing for the visit of Turkey while teenage defender Callum Booth
makes the journey to Austria where Scotland’s Under-19 side will take
on the host nation, Romania and Armenia in a European Championship
qualifying tournament.
Much closer to home Paul Hanlon and David Wotherspoon will take the
short trip along the M8 to Paisley for Scotland’s Under-21 Euro
qualifying match against Belarus.
While admitting to the natural concerns of injury and fatigue which
every manager endures in watching players depart for international
duty, Hughes insisted he’d be delighted to see even more do so in
future.
"For the players it is great experience, rubbing shoulders with the
best other countries have to offer. It undoubtedly makes them better
players and I’d like to think others will be watching them leaving and
saying to themselves ‘I want a bit of that’," he said. "I’d never
stand in the way of any of my players turning out for their countries,
it’s a great honour for them and reflects wonderfully on the club as
it is by playing for Hibs that their chance of international football
has come about in the first place."