Shaun Maloney tonight blasted Stephen Humphrys' loan at Hearts last year - as well as Jordan Jones' at Kilmarnock.
The former Hibernian boss insists both wingers at like new players since returning to Wigan Athletic this season.
The ex-Scotland international was speaking to ITV Sport prior to tonight's FA Cup clash between Wigan and Manchester United, which finished 2-0 to Erik ten Hag's men.
Humphrys scored five goals for the Jambos during his stint in Edinburgh. This included a stunner from inside his own half against Dundee United. Jones failed to make the desired impact for Derek McInnes' side as they just managed to secure survival in the top flight.
The pair started tonight's match against the global footballing giants. And Maloney clearly thinks highly of them.
He said: "We've got quite a few [to keep an eye on]. Our captain tonight, Charlie Hughes, and our goalkeeper Sam Tickle... if we're to have any chance tonight we're going to need big moments from our defenders and goalkeepers.
"And we have some talent. We do have talent in the final third. We've got [Martial] Godo on loan from Fulham. And the two players, Humphrys and Jones, they had really bad loans last year and they've come back like new players. So we've got some talent in the final third and we're going to need it tonight."
READ MORE: Will Dennis signs new Bournemouth deal amid links to Celtic & Rangers
Meanwhile, Kilmarnock goalkeeper Will Dennis has signed a new contract at parent club AFC Bournemouth.
The 23-year-old is enjoying a season-long loan at Rugby Park after joining from The Cherries in the summer.
The keeper's contract was due to expire at the end of the current campaign.
However, today, the Premier League outfit confirmed that Dennis has committed his future on the south coast until the summer of 2026.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel