John Collins stands by his claim that Kevin Nisbet could work harder ff the ball.
The Hibs striker branded Collins’ initial comments as “laughable” after firing the Easter Road club into the Scottish Cup final at the weekend.
Nisbet opened the scoring for Jack Ross ’ men as they beat Dundee United at Hampden.
But Collins doubled down on his claim again, explaining what he meant and that he doesn’t see an “instant reaction” from Nisbet when the Hibees aren’t in possession.
He told BBC Scotland: "The first thing I said was he has had a terrific season, he's scored goals and he has proved himself as a good finisher.
"I spoke very highly of him, but I did think he can work harder without the ball.
"What I mean by he can work harder without the ball is that there is two kinds of reaction on a football pitch. There is a delayed reaction, where the ball bounces 10 yards off of you, and you're disappointed, and there is an instant reaction.
"An instant reaction is you instantly try and sprint five yards to win the ball back.
"Now when I watch Kevin I don't see that enough. I want Kevin to go from strength to strength, to become a Scotland regular and score even more goals for Hibs .
"I'm asked to give my opinion. I like to think I watch players deeply; every move, every aspect of their game. I don't just watch somebody that has scored a goal and say it's a good goal and performance.
"Hopefully Kevin will take it on board not as a criticism but as my analysis, and try and make him better.
"I watched the game the other day as well, and he can still have a better reaction when the ball is around him.
"I played with with many strikers: (Frank) McAvennie, Maurice Johnston, players that were excellent without the ball, not just at scoring goals.
"They hounded full backs and put centre backs under pressure, they chased back.
"All I'm saying to Kevin is that if he can add that along with your skill, your calmness in front of goal, then you are going to be an even bigger and better player and more teams are going to come watching."
