CJ Egan-Riley is adamant Hibernian are in a good place despite their recent setback against Rangers.
The Easter Road side’s seven-game unbeaten run in the cinch Premiership was ruthlessly halted when they crashed to a 4-1 defeat at home to the Ibrox men in their last match a week past Wednesday.
Hibs face a daunting challenge as they bid to get to back on track away to rampant league leaders Celtic on Saturday, but on-loan Burnley player Egan-Riley believes they can produce a positive response if they are “switched on”.
“Since my time here, we’ve been doing really well,” he said. “The Rangers game was a blip but we’ve just got to take the learnings from it and bounce back from it.
“It’s one game, it’s done now. We have to move on to the next one and not be too disappointed.
“We need to be really switched on against Celtic and our communication and everything technical needs to be on point. They’re one of the best teams in the league so if we’re sloppy or switched off, they’re going to hurt us.”
Egan-Riley, 20, has started each of Hibs’ last four matches since arriving in January on loan until the end of the season.
“I’m loving it here,” he said. “Getting games every week, and one thing I’m really enjoying is how different all the games are.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve played Rangers, St Mirren and Kilmarnock and they’ve all been different kinds of challenges.
“The Celtic game’s one I’m really looking forward to. It’s another challenge, another opportunity.”
Egan-Riley is a centre-back by trade but has been deployed by boss Lee Johnson at right-back and more recently central midfield since joining the Hibees.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked for his favourite position. “At the moment I’m just enjoying playing everywhere, just playing football.
“I feel comfortable in all of those positions. They all bring different challenges but I feel I can show my qualities in different ways playing in those positions.
“Wherever the gaffer wants me to play and where he thinks I can best help the team, I’m happy to play.
“I’ve played in central midfield a little bit before, not a crazy amount but I do feel comfortable there.
“Obviously it’s a bit different to playing as a centre-back or a full-back because it’s 360 (degrees), the game’s all around you, so you have to scan and be really switched on.
“The gaffer’s been helping me with a few little tips about body position and things like that.”
