Hibernian head coach David Gray has challenged Kanayo Megwa to become Hibs' next right-back - even if there are three other players also competing for the position.

The Easter Road boss named four right-backs in the travelling squad for last week's training camp in the Netherlands, compared to just one left-back. But Gray made sure his full-backs got plenty of experience in different positions, with Chris Cadden playing as a winger, Lewis Miller filling in at his original position of centre-back, Rory Whittaker playing as a winger, and Kanayo Megwa featuring at centre-back and left-wingback. 

A right-back in his own playing days, Gray laughed when presented with the seemingly overwhelming evidence that he might be biased in favour of those who shared a position. 

"It’s certainly an area of the pitch where we have a lot of quality and competition. Chris Cadden has that flexibility of playing all the way up the right-hand side; Lewis and Kanayo are flexible as well. Kanayo went on loan last season and played right-back, right-wingback, even before that, at under-18 level, he played left centre-back in a back three a lot so his versatility is there," he said. 

“But what I like about the three of them is that they’re all different. Cadden fills your forward-thinking full-back role, Miller’s athleticism means he can play multiple positions - he’s played right-wingback, right-back, we’ve seen him at centre-back now and he was very comfortable in that position - and to have that luxury of three very good options for that position is great."

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Only one can fill the position on matchday, however, and there are other players jostling for the other positions. 

 

“I don’t just see them as three players fighting for one position. We’re lucky to have players who can play more than one position - but they are competing against each other every day and it should drive the standards every day as well," Gray continued. 

Megwa is an interesting case, given he was performing well for Airdrie on loan last season before being recalled by then Hibs boss Nick Montgomery and travelling with the first-team squad for their winter training camp in Dubai. But after a couple of appearances he returned to the Diamonds to see out the season, with his Easter Road future uncertain. 

But he featured against Edinburgh City at Meadowbank before being named in the travelling squad for the Dutch trip. It was also notable that there were four players who had been in the Netherlands who started against Dunbar United on Tuesday night - Riley Harbottle, Nohan Kenneh, Jair Tavares, and Whittaker - but Megwa was there merely as a spectator when previously he might have been on the pitch. 

Gray has now issued a challenge to the 20-year-old.

“Kanayo played left-back against Duisburg and did well. It was a wee bit alien to him but it’s not as if he wasn’t comfortable enough.  I see him in the first team, being able to compete at this level. He went on loan and did really well, which is why I wanted to give him the opportunity to come back and be a first-team player in the squad and push on," the head coach. explained. 

“The challenge now for him is, can he become Hibs’ next right-back? There are two good options, two players who can play the same position as him [in Cadden and Miller], but if he’s good enough to go and take it then he’ll have the opportunity to do so."

While Whittaker got some gametime at right-back in the Netherlands - as well as right-wing and left-wingback - Gray appeared to refuse to rule out a loan move for the 16-year-old when discussing his next steps.

“Rory did well against Duisburg, and did exceptionally well last season. To play as many games as he did in the first team is impressive. What I love about Rory is his attitude. When he comes and trains with the first team you’d think he’d been there his whole life. He tries things, he’s not scared to give the ball away, his reaction is always good.

"He’s got some developing to do physically, I think everyone can see that, and it’s a challenge for us as a club to keep pushing him on that, but we also need to remember he’s only 16. So he needs to be playing regularly. You don’t want him to have played as many games as he did last season and only have four or five games as a squad player this year. Can he develop and potentially get more games under his belt?

“So that’s something we’re looking at, to see how that balance goes, depending on what comes forward. But he’s around the first team just now, he’s doing well, and he’s definitely an asset for the club," Gray added.