O'Hora On "Perfect" Return & New Signings' Impact

Speaking to the press, Warren O'Hora discussed his "perfect" return to the starting XI and our hopes of picking up another positive result this weekend against Celtic. 

After missing three matches through injury before making a late substitute appearance in the Edinburgh Derby, the centre-back returned to the starting XI for last weekend's win over St Mirren. 

O'Hora revealed his delight at playing the full 90 against the Buddies following a "frustrating" spell on the sidelines. 

"It’s nice to be back. I’ve been injured for a bit, it’s frustrating off the pitch away from the boys. The game days are the worst. You're getting fit while the boys are playing games. But it is nice to be back.

"My first full game back was at the weekend just gone – it was a positive result at home and a clean sheet so it was perfect for me." 

Captaining the side on his return, O'Hora was influential in defence as Hibs secured a 2-0 victory - and he was quick to praise others coming into the squad who also made a crucial impact, primarily new teammates who have quickly taken to life in Leith.

"It’s healthy to have competition. You saw it in the last game, we’ve got boys coming off the bench and scoring.

"Young Owen [Elding] starts the game and scores a fantastic header; to have that squad depth in the squad is everything the manager will be asking for and wanting. He probably has a bit of a headache in terms of his selection, and that’s brilliant. Credit to the staff and the recruitment here, because they have all made an impact for us. 

"It gives us a lift. You can see the quality we’ve brought in. We can rotate, we can bring boys off the bench who are having a huge impact – changing games, even winning games, for us.

"At 1-0 at the weekend, and we know how football works, we probably deserved to be 1-0 or probably a bit more (ahead), but football can hit you. All it takes is one mistake or one set-piece and it can be 1-1. But we bring on Ante [Šuto] and he goes and scores for us, so it’s a credit to the new boys coming in.

"And 'Gara' stepped in for me when I was injured, and he was fantastic. Felix [Passlack] has done really well. The same with Kai [Andrews], he had to come on after five minutes for his debut. To have those type of players in your squad, who are always ready, pushing and competing against everybody every day, even in training, is very healthy for us."

Upcoming opponents Celtic, who defeated Kilmarnock with a stoppage-time winner last weekend, have a notable knack for scoring late goals. Martin O'Neill's side have netted 12 times in the last 15 minutes of matches in the Premiership this season - a total only bettered by Rangers. 

Aware of our hosts ability to change games as times winds down, O'Hora is prepared for any late onslaught and is fully focused instead on gaining another positive result. 

"As a centre-half, I don’t want to be conceding goals at any time. To concede goals late on is never good, it is definitely something we addressed.

"Football is always more than 90 minutes, there is time added-on for substitutions or injuries. Especially at Celtic Park, you need to be switched on for all the match.

"It is a great opportunity for us to go and put a marker down."