Trakys to be 'thrown in at deep end' at Hibs

Hibs boss John Hughes today revealed he's prepared to throw his latest signing Valdas Trakys "in at the deep end" against Hamilton tomorrow even though he doesn't feel the Lithuanian striker is ready for 90 minutes of SPL action.

Hughes reckons the 31-year-old is a fortnight away from full match fitness but, with Darryl Duffy's broken foot leaving him with only Derek Riordan and Colin Nish as recognised strikers, he's willing to take a chance on the much-travelled star.

While insisting he's yet to decide on whether Trakys will start the match, Hughes said: "He's not ready to go but our hand has been forced and we might just have to throw him in at the deep end and he'll need to hit the ground running.

"I've been delighted with him, I've watched him in the practice matches, his movement is good, he links up well and he's been scoring a few goals. Once we get him properly settled in and fully fit I am sure he'll play a good part for us."

Once tomorrow's match is out of the way, Trakys can anticipate a tough two weeks as Hughes' coaching staff seek to bring him up to full match fitness.

Hughes said: "We'll be working him hard, we'll try to get him as many games as we can and there will be a couple of really heavy training sessions. But we'll also have to give him recovery time and try to keep him fresh for a Saturday."

Although disappointed to see his side throw away two points against Inverness last week, settling for a 1-1 draw after passing up chances, Hughes insisted a similar performance tomorrow should result in victory.

He said: "We are creating chances, we just need to be more clincical."