Hibs star shown path to international recognition as former Easter Road boss launches deep dive on ace

A regular in the Scotland Under-21 set-up in recent years, Mulligan was rewarded for his consistency at club level by earning a maiden senior call-up to senior squad for a World Cup qualifier against Belarus last October. He was an unused substitute during that 2–1 victory, but proved he was firmly in head coach Steve Clarke’s thoughts.

With Clarke since vacating the Hampden hotseat in the wake of this summer’s World Cup disappointment, former Hibs manager Collins acknowledges it is a big season for the 23-year-old at Easter Road as he looks to force his way into the new Scotland boss’ plans and establish himself on the international scene.

In order to achieve that ambition, Collins feels the versatile midfielder has a few key attributes he needs to “tidy up” on.

“Josh immediately catches your eye,” Collins admitted. “The wee taste with Scotland was great for him. I think every Scottish player's dream has got to be to getting in that National Team. But the only way Josh will get in regularly is if he can score more goals and create more chances.

“He's also got to tidy up on his final pass. He drives past players, has good energy, a good engine, good aggression, a really good attitude. But when the ball leaves his foot, it's got to get better.

“I've watched a lot of Wyscout footage of him and his final pass to a winger or through to a centre forward, he's got to execute better. It's got to reach its target. Too often it’s intercepted, over-hit, just wee things like that he has to work on.

“If I was his coach, that’s the one thing I'd be telling him to focus on on training pitch, take more care with your final pass. The other aspects of his game, he ticks a lot of the boxes. But he's got to score more goals from midfield, make sure you’re getting in the box, playing it wide and arriving in the box.

“It’s improving on those type of things that's going to take for him to the next step up in his game as a midfield player. It’s these small things he's got to add to his game.. That's it, because he’s you can’t question his attitude.

“I really like him, and I like (Jamie) McGrath as well, he's a similar type; tidy in possession, has got good legs. I've not even mentioned Nicky Cadden, who is coming back from injury. He’s another top player with a good left foot. He produces some terrific deliveries into the box and has the best left foot in Scotland, in my opinion. But he needs to deliver more as well on a consistent basis and keep himself fit, because he picks up a lot of little niggly injuries."

‘A good servant to Hibs’

Hibs granted right wing-back Chris Cadden his wish of a fresh challenge and more regular game time by allowing the 29-year-old to complete a permanent move to Premiership rivals Aberdeen last month, bringing an end to his five-and-a-half-year spell in Leith.

Discussing his exit, Collins added: "I think his time was coming to the end after being replaced by [Felix] Passlack, but Chris has been a good servant to Hibs. He always gave you 100 per cent and wants to play forward. I'm sure he'll do well for Aberdeen."

*John Collins was promoting Premier Sports’ coverage of Scottish football including over 80 matches from the Scottish Premiership, Premier Sports Cup and Scottish Cup. Fans can watch an entire season of football for only £99 using promo code FITBA26.