Hibernian forward Kamberi hopes his patience will pay off

Hibernian striker Florian Kamberi is hopeful his patience and hard work in training will be rewarded as he targets a return to the starting line-up.

The former Grasshopper marksman has five goals to his name in all competitions so far this campaign but has been named on the bench for Hibs’ last two league games and he is aiming to be involved from the start at Hamilton on Saturday.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference shown on Hibs TV, he said: “I didn’t play two times in a row. I think if you asked me if I’m happy, I’m not happy.

“Which player is happy who is not playing? Especially as a striker, when you don’t play you don’t score goals.

“But the season is long, there are still many games to go and I’m being patient, confident and working hard in training to wait for my chance.”

Hibs have enjoyed three positive results since their 2-1 derby defeat against Edinburgh rivals Hearts last month, booking their place in the semi-finals of the Betfred Cup with a shoot-out victory over Kilmarnock before holding champions Celtic and Aberdeen to 1-1 draws.

Christian Doidge has led the line in each of those games but Kamberi insists he relishes having competition for his place at Easter Road.

He added: “It’s normal to have competition in a team. If you go to Real Madrid it’s even harder.

“So there is always competition but the competition makes you as a player better and pushes you to go to the limit, even in training.

“And then at the end of the day it is the decision of the manager which striker he will choose.

“Everybody is waiting for the next win. With a win on Saturday that would be amazing, not just for the fans but especially for the team spirit.”