The Academy Chief is ecstatic about Rudi “affecting games” for Gray’s team.
Rudi Molotnikov, who made an impression in the Hibs first team at the age of just 18, is expected to perform well for both club and country. The youthful player has also been used as an example of manager David Gray’s willingness to take a chance on inexperience despite having a “bloated” roster of experienced players.
During the most recent international break, Molotnikov scored three goals in as many games for the Scotland Under-19s. He also scored a spectacular double to help the Scots come back from a 2-0 deficit to draw with a talented Netherlands team. Then, in Saturday’s first league victory of the season—a resounding 2-0 triumph over St Johnstone at Easter Road—he made his ninth start of the year for Hibs.
According to Gareth Evans, head of Hibs academy, the youth is deserving of his spot in Gray’s starting lineup. Additionally, Evans thinks that Molotnikov’s physicality has been crucial in securing him a berth on the senior team in a few different capacities.
Evans, the former Hibs forward, stated, “Rudi playing in the first team is obviously a big plus for the academy. He’s a player who has been with us since he was 10 years old, so it’s always good to see players come through the academy and be developed here.”
“It’s fantastic to see someone who is a member of the first team contributing to games and performing exceptionally well, rather than merely filling in the stats. In addition, he travelled with the Scotland under-19 team and had a great game, scoring two goals against the Netherlands and additional goals against Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands.
Physically, I believe Rudi is prepared. For his age, he’s a strong young man. Over the past 12 to 18 months, his level of fitness has significantly improved. His physical attributes enable him to withstand the rigours of the Scottish Premiership. Maybe some of the guys aren’t as physically mature as Rudi is right now, but maybe their participation in the gym programs will improve that.
Evans remarked, “Yeah, I think he’s prepared to do that, and he’s shown that with Rudi going into the team,” complimenting Grey for having faith in the future generation. If anyone else stands out during training and goes over to train with the first team, I’m sure they’ll be included into the first team roster if they do well.
While Molotnikov is playing in the Scottish Premiership, other top prospects have been sent out on loan to gain experience. This week, Kanayo Megwa, a promising right back who was behind Chris Cadden and Lewis Miller in the depth chart, signed a temporary contract to play for Partick Thistle. Evans stated that Megwa would benefit from simply going out and performing at a high level of football. Only one division below the Premier League, the Championship in Scotland is where Kanyo will play, thus the more experience he gets at that level, the better.
“It could be difficult for Kanayo to grow if he returned here and found himself lower on the hierarchy. I’m trying to say that he would struggle to gain playing time and to genuinely feel it on the pitch.
He must therefore acclimatise himself to the team and make friends with the players in the dressing room as he is moving to Partick. To become a professional football player, you need to have all those tiny things.
Thus, maybe Kanaya can go there and perform just as well as he did at Airdrie during the previous season. After that, he can return and position himself to play for this team’s first squad.
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