NEIL LENNON insists he made a career out of doing the dirty work that gave Henrik Larsson free rein to become a Celtic icon.
Now calling the shots form the dugout, the Hibs head coach has vowed to give Brandon Barker the same license to torment Premiership backlines.
Manchester City loan star Barker was a shining light against Rangers on Wednesday night, climbing off the bench after 50 minutes and proceeding to run the Gers ragged despite the Hibees succumbing to a 2-1 reverse.
He struck the post twice and flashed a ferocious drive just over the bar in what Lennon described as the 21-year-old’s best performance in a Hibs jersey.
“Brandon is a throwback,” Lauded Lennon. “He wants to get to the byeline, he wants to get inside and has that dynamic burst of pace to take people on. Some people say his end product is not great but that’s nitpicking completely. He is a very exciting player that I have admired him for a long time. On Wednesday you saw why. He was breath-taking. I can’t coach that.
“It was always my job to pick up the bits for the Larssons, the [Didier] Agathes of this world – that is what I was paid to do. Nine times out of ten, they got it right. You just let them play and a lot of stuff Brandon did the other night, he got right. I just wish he was ours permanently!”
As much as he would love to swoop for Barker, the financial realities are stark when it comes to competing with clubs south of the border. That was emphasised this week, with Lenny revealing Hibs were priced out of a bid for Motherwell marksman Louis Moult, who instead chose to join Preston North End for £500,000.
“You’re talking Man City here. You’re talking wages. You’re talking transfer fee,” Lennon continued.
“So it might be just a little bit out of our remit. We were quite keen on Louis Moult but he’s gone to Preston for half a million pounds, so it’s very, very difficult to compete sometimes.
“We’re enjoying having Brandon here for the moment and he’s enjoying being here.”
Barker’s efforts against Rangers were the tip of the iceberg for the capital club, who left Easter Road wondering how they did not manage to claim at least a point against Graham Murty’s stubborn visitors.
Hibs are on a run of one win in five Premiership outings but can close the gap to Aberdeen to just three points at Pittodrie today.
Lennon added: “If we lose at Pittodrie it is not the end of the world, but ideally I want to win and then the positive slant is that you are only three behind - and they have to play Celtic, while Rangers have to play Celtic. There is still a lot of football to be played.”
Meanwhile, Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes insists he relishes the greater challenge this season for the runners-up place with Rangers rejuvenated and Hibs showing they’re also up for the battle.
He said: “We secured second spot way before the end of the season in previous years.
“I think we were as clear as 17 points when Hearts came back up.
“We didn’t just get second spot, we properly secured it without any real fuss.
“Last year it was by nine points against a newly-promoted Rangers team, the year before that was 16 and this year we have a newly-promoted Hibs team to go alongside Hearts and Rangers.
“It shows that it is a stronger league when so many teams are up there.
“That brings its own challenges.
“There is a lot of good teams operating in the league at the minute and you don’t get away with below-par performances too much and expect to win games, especially against teams who are in the top half of the table this season.”
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