Hibs boss urges Ma-Kalambay to claim No. 1 jersey

HIBS boss John Hughes will urge goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay to grab the No.1 jersey and then make it his for keeps.

Since arriving at Easter Road two years ago, Ma-Kalambay has favoured the No.50 he wore at Chelsea, where he was understudy to Petr Cech, Carlo Cudicini, and Henrique Hilario.

Consequently the traditional goalkeeping number was left unused with Andy McNeil, Ma-Kalambay's rival for the gloves, sporting No.21 on his back. And, when former Polish goalkeeper Grzegorz Szamotulski arrived on a short-term deal for the second half of last season, he opted for the No.13.

But now Hughes, who is seeking to bring in a new goalkeeper with McNeil and Szamotulski having both left the club, wants ex-Belgian Under-21 star Ma-Kalambay to make a statement of intent to any newcomer by taking the No.1 for himself.

Although he may have some persuading to do, Hughes said: "I know Yves' superstitions but I want him to make that statement and then go and prove to me he is the No.1.

"If I was the only goalkeeper at a club, as Yves is at the moment, then I would say 'give me the No.1' and then it is up to me to keep it no matter who is brought to the club."

With only Thomas Flynn, newly promoted from Hibs' Under-19 side, as back-up to Ma-Kalambay, Hughes has made no secret of the fact he's seeking stiffer competition for that particular position.

And, although he has been strongly linked with Dani Mallo, now out-of-contract at his former club Falkirk, Hughes insisted he has options other than the Spanish star.

He said: "Dani did well for me at Falkirk, he came in at Christmas and kept ten clean sheets. He's an agile goalkeeper, he comes and punches the ball well and kicks it well.

"I can't just go with one goalkeeper, I need competition but I have many irons in many fires at the moment. We are sniffing about."

While he acknowledges Ma-Kalambay has been in the spotlight for losing a few bizarre goals, the most recent being Aberdeen's opener in the final game of last season when he crashed a clearance off the back of Dons striker Lee Miller and into the net, Hughes firmly believes the 6ft 5in stopper has plenty of potential.

He said: "Of course, you don't want to put up with that but I am looking forward to working with Maka. I think he has good potential.

"I'm told Maka is a right good shot stopper if a bit unorthodox. Every now and again he makes a mistake but most goalkeepers do that.

"You find that, as they gain more experience, those errors start to go out of their game because their decision making gets better and they get a better knowledge of the game."

Meanwhile, Hughes expects Merouane Zemmama and Abdessalam Benjelloun to report back for pre-season training after the Moroccan stars were given an extra week off following World Cup duty for their country.

And likewise, Sol Bamba should be back on Monday having struck that agreement with former boss Mixu Paatelainen before heading off to play World Cup qualifiers for the Ivory Coast.