Hibernian have confirmed that they will not enter a team in next season’s SPFL Reserve League. The BBC report that the Edinburgh side are unhappy with the format of the league. They say it doesn’t support “our wish to maximise the development potential of our young players.”
The Hibees finished third in this season’s inaugural campaign behind Celtic and winners Rangers.
What about Celtic?
Things have gone quiet with regards to the issue and Celtic. At the start of May, The Herald reported that the Hoops were set to leave the league for a similar reason to Hibernian.
Celtic Head of Youth Development Chris McCart was reported as saying: “We are trying to improve and bridge the gap between the Reserves and the top team. We wanted to create a Colts team in the lower leagues but that was knocked back.”
What now?
It will be interesting to see if Hibernian’s decision to withdraw from next season spurs Celtic into life.
The Hoops haven’t exactly been hamstrung by not having the Reserve League in the past. The club has still managed to nurture and develop the likes of James Forrest, Kieran Tierney and Callum McGregor in recent years. That’s been without the use of the Reserve League or colts in the lower divisions.
The majority of Celtic’s youth graduates either come into the first team and excel straight away or they go on high-profile loans. The likes of Ryan Christie and Kristoffer Ajer didn’t rely on the league to progress. They moved out to other Premiership teams and got their experience. That won’t be affected by any changes to the existing setup.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
