Jamie McAllister opens up on son Reuben joining him at Hibs and gives positive Kyle Magennis update

When Jamie McAllister was appointed assistant manager of Hibs to Lee Johnson in the summer, he was not expecting his son to follow to him to Edinburgh.

A highly-regarded member of the Bristol City youth academy, 16-year-old Reuben McAllister was making waves down south, part of the club’s under-23 set-up and catching the eye of a number of English Premier League clubs, as well as current cinch Premiership champions Celtic.

However, Johnson wanted to take McAllister Jnr north to Hibs, believing that in a couple of seasons, he will be a regular in the Easter Road first team. Hibs paid a low six-figure fee to secure his services.

It means there is a chance father and son can bump into each other at the workplace, but while Jamie has little to do with Reuben’s professional development at present due to the teenager being in the youth academy, the former Sunderland coach admits it is a little surreal to have him in Scotland with him.

“Mixed emotions, if I’m honest!" McAllister replied about how he felt when it emerged that Hibs were strongly interested in his son.

“He was pretty much ready to sign a three-year deal at Bristol City then the gaffer put it to me he wanted to sign him.

“It took him two or three weeks to make the decision, it was tough. Myself and my wife just said weigh up the pros and cons of staying at Bristol City, weigh up the pros and cons of coming to Hibs.

“It’s on you. We couldn’t decide it for him, because in a year or two time he could some and say: ‘Dad, you told me to do this’ if it wasn’t the right one.

“He’s 16-years-old now so it was up to him to make the decision. He said he wanted a fresh challenge and he was excited by the opportunity.

“They gave him his programme and the gaffer sold it to him,