Old boy Tam looks to lead from the right!
McManus happy to wear the shirt in any position

THERE CAN'T BE MANY CLUBS IN THE SPL who have their most senior player aged at just 22-years-old, but that is certainly the case at Easter Road where Tam McManus starts this season at that tender age knowing that he has been around the stadium longer than anyone else.  Many have come and gone over the years since McManus was snapped up by Jim Duffy, and the Under-21 international has had to fight all the way during his professional career as each season has been quoted as being a 'big one' for the young star who was once rated by those in the know at the club as being the better of the one-time strike partnership in the Hibs Under-18 side of Miller and McManus!

A practical joker in the Easter Road dressing room, McManus has never taken his football in anything other than a very serious manner, nor indeed does McManus take lightly the honour he feels in being a Hibs player at all, let alone the longest serving professional at Hibernian.  "I'm 22 years old and the longest serving player at the club, it just shows you the changes we have gone through since I first started here with Jim Duffy," McManus told Hibs.net, adding:  "There have been a lot of changes in personnel but I'm delighted to play for Hibs and it really is a privilege to pull on the jersey every week.  I think this season the fans have a lot to be excited about, there really is a good crop of young players coming through and of course Stephen Dobbie has come in and he's just a young guy as well.  The fans always like to see home-grown talent coming through and every one of them, Scott Brown and Derek Riordan in particular, work their hearts out for the club and I think that the fans do appreciate that.  So I'm certainly looking forward to this season."

Dobbie returns the favour and gives his chauffeur Tam a lift! (sns)

McManus has had plenty of competition for the strikers role at Easter Road over the years, and has seen the likes of Kenny Miller, Mixu Paatelainen and Paco Luna come and go along with others, leaving McManus to hang in there and fight off yet another challenge this season with four younger men champing at the bit to be in Bobby Williamson's starting eleven.  Garry O'Connor, Derek Riordan, Scott Brown and now Stephen Dobbie have all looked sharp in pre-season, and that means trouble for McManus - although the 'old boy' has a few tricks up his sleeve yet.  "There are a few good young strikers at the club and it's going to be interesting to see who starts the season.  It's good competition but I think that I have a wee advantage in that I can play in the wide position as well, I think the gaffers pencilled me into that area this season so we'll just have to wait and see what happens, I've been converted I think!  I enjoy playing out wide, I enjoyed playing there in the second half on Saturday, I don't mind and in fact I'll play anywhere to get a game!  I made my debut on the right midfield against Hearts a couple of years ago and had not a bad game so I can definitely play there, the gaffer and the coaches are working hard with me in training on the defensive aspect of the role and I think I'm coming on."

While Scott Brown appears to have continued from where he left off last season, showing some great touches both against Preston and Sunderland in pre-season, it has been Bobby Williamson's capture from Ibrox who has perhaps caught the eye more.  In signing Stephen Dobbie, Williamson commented that he could see the 20-year-old 'had an eye for goal', and that was demonstrated in dramatic fashion against Sunderland when Dobbie scored twice.  No doubt however Stephen will have been reminded in the car going home that he missed the easiest chance of the afternoon, laid on for him by the Hibs right-winger!  McManus said: "Stephen is a good finisher, he travels in with me in the morning because he has not passed his driving test yet so hopefully he'll get his finger out!  He is a good lad though and he showed the Hibs fans on Saturday just what he can do, he took both his goals really well and I'm very pleased for him."  Playing on the right will likely cut the scoring opportunities for McManus, who ended last season as Hibs top scorer.  This however presents no real problem as he said: "I don't think I'll be able to score as many goals from out wide as I could through the middle, but I'm quite happy to be the provider for others because it's not about who is scoring the goals but about winning the games, so with that in mind I'm just as happy to be providing chances as well." 

What about more international honours though?  That would be nice for Tam, but is very much on the back-burner for now as he told Hibs.net: "I've been in the Under-21 Scotland side for a while and I'm too old for that now, but if I can get a run of games even if it is out wide then hopefully I can impress Berti Vogts but first and foremost it is about getting a game for Hibs and that is going to be hard enough without thinking about Scotland."