John Potter is desperate for Hibernian to retain out of contract duo Joe Newell and Ofir Marciano but admitted he would not be surprised if other clubs have already attempted to prise them away from Easter Road.
The pair have been key players for the men in green and white this season, with Newell in particular shining in a more natural central midfield role as Jack Ross’s men continue their push for European football.
Marciano meanwhile has excelled both domestically and at international level, where the Israeli international frustrated Scotland in a Nations League win over Steve Clarke’s side last year.
Midfielder Newell is expected to return to the matchday squad for Saturday’s trip to Ross County after missing Hibs’ last six games with a groin issue, but faces a difficult task to reclaim his starting position following the arrival of Australian international Jackson Irvine and the reinvigorated form of Alex Gogic.
Assistant boss Potter confirmed contract talks were underway with both players, but conceded while every effort would be made to keep them in Leith, he was unable to prevent clubs with deeper pockets making their interest known
“It’s a difficult one, I know the club has been speaking to both players and their agents,” he said.
“Other people will be potentially speaking to them and looking at them but we think we’ve got an attractive club at Hibs.
“We want them here because they are good players. We think they’re both in good stages of their career. Hopefully they are enjoying their football, they can be successful, for me it’s a good place to play and I hope the two of them can stay beyond the end of the season.”
Irvine has impressed alongside Chris Cadden and goalkeeper Matt Macey with all three of Hibs’ January recruits starring in a run of four league wins from their last five games.
That turnaround after a particularly poor spell at the turn of the year saw the men in green and white open up a five point gap to Aberdeen in the race for Europe after tucking The Dons away courtesy of a Martin Boyle double at Easter Road.
Ross has named an unchanged side for the recent run of fixtures, which also included away wins at St Mirren and Dundee United, leaving in-demand pair Kevin Nisbet and Ryan Porteous among the substitutes.
But Potter reiterated the full depth of the squad will be required before the end of the campaign as he warned the players warming the bench to be ‘ready for action’ when called upon.
“We brought three signings in in January and they’ve just added quality,” he said, “Chris and Jackson have been excellent. They’ve probably hit the ground running when it was difficult for them because the two of them hadn’t played a lot of football.
“Joe comes into the squad for Saturday and the squad’s now very important. It’s good, we’re happy with it, and everybody will be needed between now and the end of the season.
“It’s important to keep everybody ticking along and ready to go.
“I think if you look at our squad now we’re in a much healthier position. When you look at our bench now, we feel like we’ve got players who can come on and make a difference."
