I’ll keep top kids flowing
Eddie May wants to produce a conveyor belt of talent for Hibs boss Neil Lennon after hailing the breakthrough of youngsters Oli Shaw and Ryan Porteous.
Striker Shaw penned a new three-year deal with the Easter Road outfit last week to cap his stunning rise.
With three goals in his last six appearances, plus a strike at Hampden in the Betfred Cup semi- f inal, S h aw h a s b e en a n undoubted success story.
And with defender Porteous having impressed in his seven f irst- team appearances, boss Lennon has shown he is willing to give youth a chance.
Now May, head of academy coaching, has set himself the goal of ensuring there are plenty of others coming through the ranks.
He said: “I have to give the gaffer a lot of praise because he has brought Ryan and Oli in and nurtured them.
“They will be very good players and that’s hopefully just the start of it.
“Certainly, since I’ve been here they’ve been fantastic.
“Hopefully we can keep producing players.
“The aim is that when (head of identification and recruitment) Graeme Mathie gets asked to go and find a player, he’s already in the building.”
May has praised the Hibs hierarchy for making the investment to ensure the club is part of the ‘elite’ top tier of SFA’s Project Brave set-up for youth players.
But the former Falkirk boss, who came through the Hibs ranks as a player, accepts clubs have to be careful with how they manage fledgling careers.
He added: “It’s about progressing in life and in their career. We have to make them good people as well as good football players.
“We have to get them to the level they’re capable of playing at. But if you have a Porteous, a Shaw, a Fraser Murray then you will have a better chance.”