Exclusive: 'Grateful' Hibs loan star opens up on Easter Road career rescue

Maolida is engulfed by team-mates after scoring one of his 11 goals in less than four months. | SNS Group

Short-term Hibs hero Myziane Maolida insists he will “never forget” his brief stint as an Easter Road favourite. And the Comoros international has backed his old team-mates to improve next season – if they get time to gel.

Maolida, who scored 11 goals in less than four months at Hibs, is entering the final year of his contract at Hertha Berlin, who had stuck the 25-year-old in their B team for half a season before Nick Montgomery offered him a lifetime in January. His explosive impact on the Scottish Premiership has opened up opportunities in a number of major leagues.

Admitting that he’d not even discussed a return to Hibs as one of his options, Maolida – speaking exclusively to The Evening News - revealed: “I don’t think I will come back. But I will always be grateful to Hibernian. Grateful to the fans, the coaches, the players who helped me return to football. I will never forget this wonderful time in Scotland.

“I think we had very good players. It was not easy every time. But players like Rocky, Elie Youan … they were all very good players.

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“I think maybe we just needed more time to play together, to do something special as a team. When you have a lot of players on loan, sometimes it’s difficult to make a good connection quickly.

“We didn’t make it to the top six, which was very disappointing. But I think we had the foundations of a good team. So I think Hibs can have some good success in the future.”

Maolida admitted he’d been saddened to see Montgomery, who had done so much to convince him on the move to Edinburgh, sacked with two games of the season remaining. And he sees interim boss David Gray as a potentially solid replacement.

The former Lyon and Nice star said: “When Nick was removed as manager, I was disappointed and very sad. Because this is the coach who called me, the man who persuaded me to come to Hibs, who showed so much confidence in.

“So of course I was sad that he was leaving. But I know very well that, in football, things can change very quickly. When you don’t win every game, even with a good performance, you can be out very quickly. I hope that Nick will find something very good very quickly, because he is a very good coach.

“I only played two games with David as manager. But, as a person, he is a very good person. He tried to do something good in difficult circumstances.

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“It’s not easy when you take over a team in this situation. I think he could be the new coach for Hibs because he knows everything about the club.

“It’s not just because he has played for the club over many years. He also has the experience of coaching there. He knows the players. So maybe it would be a good thing for Hibernian if they appoint him.”