Matthew Lindsay: Hibs loan move suggests Deila was right to have concerns over Stokes

Rightly or wrongly, a widespread perception of the striker is an individual who has talent to burn – and his scoring record stands up to very close scrutiny indeed – but around whom a questionable attitude persists.

Opting to go to Hibs, a second-tier club, when at least two top-flight outfits, Dundee United and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, were keen to take him has done little to dispel that.

Championship clubs in England, including Cardiff City and Rotherham, also wanted to secure his services. If he was unprepared to move further afield in this country, though, there was little chance of him going down south.

The fact the 27-year-old decided to go to a lower league club which is situated within a short commute of his West Lothian home leaves him open to accusations that he lacks ambition and a desire to resurrect his career.

The Euro 2016 finals in France are just months away and, despite his inactivity of late, he has a fair chance of being involved with the Republic of Ireland. The Dubliner was called up by Martin O’Neill for the play-off matches with Bosnia-Herzegovina back in November.

Surely proving himself in the Premiership in Scotland with Caledonian Thistle or Dundee United or in the Championship in England with Cardiff or Rotherham would have increased his prospects of being selected? Is O’Neill going to be bowled over if he scores against Alloa or Dumbarton?

Perhaps Stokes feels that returning to the Edinburgh club, where he enjoyed a fruitful spell in the 2009/10 season, will prove beneficial to him. He knows the environment he is going into and is comfortable in it. He is also popular with the supporters.

Working with Alan Stubbs may also be an attraction. The Englishman certainly performed wonders with Scott Allan, another mercurial talent whose dedication had been questioned and who had failed to fulfil his enormous potential, in his brief stint in the capital.

I have always found Stokes, despite the tabloid headlines he has attracted as a result of some of his off-field exploits over the years, to be a pleasant fellow and wish him well. His former team mates, too, all speak in glowing terms of his natural ability and easy-going nature. It will be good for the game here if he can rediscover his best form.

But it is very hard not to conclude that joining Hibs was the easy option for him and hints at why Deila, who demands a high work rate and level of physical fitness from all of his players, was so unwilling to play him.

The Celtic manager has stated that he hopes the forward plays regularly, scores goals and returns reinvigorated and ready to challenge for a starting place in his side. He is adamant that, despite a breach of discipline that led to him being told to stay away from training last year, his errant charge still has a future at Parkhead.

But he is in a no-win situation here. If Stokes does shine at Hibs – and he started his time there in an encouraging fashion at the weekend when he came off the bench and scored in a 3-1 victory over St Mirren at Easter Road – it will give ammunition to those who maintained he should have been featuring all along at Celtic.

AND ANOTHER THING

HOW much was the success that Hearts enjoyed in the Championship last season due to the fact that it was the only competition they were involved in for the last five months of the campaign?

Robbie Neilson’s men dominated the division, left their rivals, including Hibs and Rangers, trailing in their wake and won the second-tier title by no fewer than 21 points.

But being knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Livingston in August, the League Cup by Celtic in September and Scottish Cup by Celtic again in November was undoubtedly helpful to their cause in the league.

The Tynecastle club were able to focus solely on their main objective and comfortably secured promotion straight back into the Premiership at the first time of asking as a result. Indeed, it was even implied in some quarters that their failure in the cup competitions had been deliberate.

It is something that Alan Stubbs, who last week boldly stated that Hibs were capable of winning a domestic treble, should consider.

Stubbs has bolstered his squad at Easter Road considerably in the January transfer window with the signings of Chris Dagnall, Niklas Gunnarsson, Anthony Stokes, Kevin Thomson and Otso Virtanen yesterday.

However, does he possess the strength in depth to challenge for all three competitions his side are involved in? Fighting a war on more than one front could prove detrimental to Hibs’ hopes of getting back into the top flight.