Ross Laidlaw expects to hand Hibs gloves back to Marciano

Laidlaw made his first appearance in almost three months against Falkirk after the club’s first choice Ofir Marciano was drafted into the Israel squad for their World Cup qualifying match in Albania only to be ruled out with a knee injury, returning to watch the weekend action from the stand.

And, although he believes he did nothing wrong in the 1-1 draw with the Bairns, former Raith Rovers player Laidlaw conceded that if Marciano is declared fit for this weekend then he could well find himself back on the bench.

The 24-year-old, whose last match was against St Mirren in Paisley at the end of August, said: “It was good to get 90 minutes as it had been a while since I last played. It’s been frustrating, I’ve had to wait my chance and I think I slotted back in okay.

“I’ll have to wait and see what happens this weekend but, at the end of the day, if Ofir is fit I’d expect him to come back into the team. He was signed to be the No. 1, he’s an international goalkeeper and has been doing well enough to be called up by Israel again.

“I felt I did nothing wrong against Falkirk. I didn’t have a save to make but I knew coming to a bigger club like Hibs it would be hard to break through. I’m loving it here but I need to bide my time and, when the opportunities arise, give it my best shot.

“But you need that competition at a club like Hibs. It’s not just Ofir but Otso Virtanen who has been away with Finland’s Under-21 squad. That shows the calibre of goalkeeper we have at Easter Road. The level of competition among us is really good and our coach Alan Combe has been working us hard in training every day.”