Lee Johnson admits securing new loan deals for Will Fish and CJ Egan-Riley would ease the pressure on Hibs’ summer shopping.
Manchester United defender Fish was a huge success after stepping into the void to replace Ryan Porteous. But the Easter Road club could face competition from Aberdeen to land the 20-year-old, who played 21 games while on loan. Likewise Burnley utility man Egan-Riley added steel to the midfield and backline after joining in January. Neither player had an option to buy inserted in their deal but Johnson is pushing to get both back for the new campaign. The Hibs boss brought in 20 players across two windows in the season just gone but he’ll look to “trim the fat” in this one.
Asked if he expects a big turnaround this summer, Johnson said: “A lot of that will be dictated by the loans. I’d love to have Will and CJ back, as an example. They’re not our only loans but while I remember a media report suggesting we had too many loans, with some of these guys we have an option to turn it into a permanent and some we haven’t.
"That comes into play. I’d like to keep the stability, trim the fat and use the finances well to recruit quality. I’d rather lower the numbers and have higher quality.
"Then obviously if we’ve got good young players to supplement the squad or we can rotate the loans, bring them back and one of them breaks through, we’re all laughing. I’d much rather have a smaller squad because it means there are fewer problems for me!
"I like an environment where everybody feels like they have a carrot at the end of the week.” Johnson came in just over 12 months ago, taking a side that had finished eighth to a fifth – and Europe – this term.
He added: “If you remember when I walked through the door, we had seven on the injury bed and a lot were key players. A lot of the understudies, or perceived understudies, were actually starting.
“You talk about having your money on the pitch but a lot of those players were injured. That left a slightly over-inflated squad, particularly with the narrative that the season before there maybe wasn’t enough depth.
“We were almost slightly diluted in terms of quality but we had the depth. That’s fine if everyone’s fit but if they’re not, you’re playing the players who ideally are trying to take the place of the ones who are ready-made and that’s where you need a bit of luck.
"Generally when we’ve had that settled 11, we have performed well. And if you look back at when I’ve changed the team and when I haven’t, I’d love to pick a team on day one and hardly have to change it until the end of the season, then build and build and build again.
“However, clubs like Hibs have their place in the food chain, so we have to wait or we have to be calm, or we have to convince, or we have to pay more. And all those things come into it to try to achieve these loans again.
“In an ideal world I’d love to keep this core strong and then add quality – not numeracy – in and around the key areas where we think we need additions for the first team.
“There will be a lot of interest in our players both in terms of the fringe players, or the ones who perhaps haven’t had as many minutes as they might have hoped, but also the stars.”
