Celtic star rule out for rest of season in devastating injury blow during training ahead of Hibernian match

Hibs super sub pushing for start against Celtic – and backed to become World Cup ‘bolter’ for Socceroos

Two goals from the bench prompts ‘my job becomes harder’ admission from Gray

David Gray has backed Ante Suto to make a late charge for Australia’s World Cup squad. And the Hibs boss admits the striker scoring twice as a substitute has created a selection conundrum for tomorrow’s clash with Celtic in Glasgow.

Born and raised in Croatia, Suto qualifies for the Socceroos through his dad, Anthony, who is from Melbourne. He still has family back in Oz – and is in talks with Football Australia over finalising his international choice.

Socceroos assistant coach Mile Jedinak was at last weekend’s game at Easter Road, watching on as Suto came off the bench to score his second goal as an impact sub. Yet to make a start for Hibs, the former Slaven Belupo forward is pushing hard for a place in the first XI.

Asked about the striker – who also qualifies for his native Croatia – becoming a World Cup bolter for the Aussies, Gray said: “That has to be a brilliant motivator for him, absolutely. I think when you look around the players that have already done it, when they’ve joined the club, Jordan Obita, Rocky Bushiri, Kieron Bowie of late.

“If you are performing well, especially at the back end of the season, international managers are going to notice. Absolutely.

“It’s a certain level of playing here, the expectation, the demand. It sets you up well for that.

“I think every single player who’s got ambitions, an opportunity to try and potentially get to a World Cup, I’m sure that’s a brilliant carrot for them to try and finish the season as strong as they can. Because you never know, between now and the end of the season, you’ll get injuries between squads.

Lewis Miller picked up a real significant injury, which is a real shame for Lewis, with his World Cup dream that he’ll have had. So he has to bounce back and get ready for the next one.

“It just shows you it’s an opportunity. Making sure you’re doing the right things every single time you get the opportunity, because there’s always people watching.”

Asked if Suto looked like an international player, Gray said: “Absolutely. But I think we’re not looking at it from a point of view that I think he can go and play international football.

“I think the first thing is, do we feel he’s got real attributes that can benefit a Hibernian Football Club, but also really showcases talent in Scotland? I think he’s definitely got the attributes to be successful in Scotland. When you see that, he’s already proven that when he came on.

“Obviously, it’s been a very good addition so far and a lot more to come. The more he settles, the more game time he gets, the more he gets used to the players.”

Club ‘sells itself’ on many fronts

Explaining that he’d flagged up the possibility of international recognition during his first conversations with Suto, initially targeted by Hibs last summer, Gray said: “You definitely do. Especially when you want to give players all the information you possibly can to know exactly what they’re coming into.

“A lot of the club sells itself in terms of the stadium, if you take players to that or you show them the stadium, the training ground, the facilities we’ve got here, the opportunity to play in big games. We’re going to Celtic Park this weekend, it’s a brilliant game to go and test yourself.

And then as you mentioned there about international players, how many players have come not having played for their national team, played for a significant number of games for Hibs or played well for Hibs, and then got call-ups and caps off the back of that. I think that’s a brilliant thing to have.

“It’s great for the football club as well, that we can demonstrate that this is a really good platform, a really good level that we’re playing at. And the more international players, obviously, it’s great for everybody involved.”

Asked if Suto had pushed himself into contention for a starting spot after impressing from the bench, the Hibs boss said: “Yeah, I think it’s … Certainly, my job becomes harder. When you talk about team selection and being forced to make changes and not having a settled side, that can be sometimes circumstantial because you’ve only got so many players to select.

“At this moment in time, we’re getting healthier, there’s a lot of competition for places, so it’s very much about picking what we believe gives us the best chance to win the game. Whether that’s from the start or how you see the game going and how you want to finish the game. It’s very much about making sure everybody knows their job, knows their role.”