Hibs veteran Paul Hanlon has backed new young talent Josh Campbell to continue his goalscoring spree after the 22-year-old talent scored his fifth goal in ten games this season.
Campbell followed up his superb start to the current campaign by bagging a vital brace for the Easter Road outfit against Aberdeen on Saturday to give Lee Johnson's men all three points and lift them up to sixth in the Scottish Premiership table after seven games. The starlet, who spent a season on loan at local side Edinburgh City just two years ago, failed to make a huge impact in the Hibs side last season with just one goal in 18 starts in the Premiership.
But after a strong pre-season, Campbell appears to have found his groove as one of Hibs' focal points as they push for the top half. A goal against Rangers in the dying moments was arguably his media spotlight breakthrough, and his brace against Aberdeen the other day only expedited that. And Hanlon has challenged Campbell to at least hit double figures by the time the season ends as the centre-back aims to usher his side into the European spots after missing out last season.
"I was saying to Josh after the game that he is definitely a goal threat. He should be aiming for at least ten or 12 goals because he is capable of that," Hanlon told HibsTV.
“In football, your form can go up and down in your career throughout the course of your career but it is about how you respond. There is no doubt that Josh's response has been fantastic – especially this season.”
Hibs massively disappointed last season, finishing in eighth despite going the first seven games in the division unbeaten. Just three wins in the league after Boxing Day were enough to consign the Leith-based outfit from fifth to eighth, and they could've finished ninth if not for a final day victory.
Their victory over the Dons was the first time they had won back to back games in the league since the festive season; and Hanlon stated the importance of continuing their form if they are to secure European football once again.
"We knew going into the match it was a big one for us. Off the back of the Kilmarnock win, we were trying to build momentum and it has set us up nicely going into the international break,” Hanlon added.
“The response to going a goal behind was great. It was disappointing to lose the early goal but we didn’t let it affect us and we got back into the game and stayed on the front foot and tried to create as much we could.
“We kept going and the sending-off changed things. We managed to steamroller them in the end and it was an onslaught in the second half."
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