Junior Hoilett reminds me of Hibs' Little Magician and new deal should be next trick - Tam McManus

Watching Junior Hoilett conjure up his bag of tricks for Hibs has been a throwback to when Easter Road adored a man known as the Little Magician - Russell Latapy.

I loved playing with Russell. He was a maverick, a wizard with the ball and possessed the type of quality that got supporters off their seats. Hoilett is exactly the same. And I bet punters down in Leith are hoping Hibs can pull a rabbit out the hat by getting him tied down on a new deal.

I know if I was David Gray I’d be doing everything I could to convince him to stay for another year, even if he will turn 35 in the summer. Hoilett’s been outstanding and comparing him to Latapy in Hibs terms is the highest praise.

He's got that little change of direction, change of pace. He can go both sides, left or right.

And he's got end product as he showed with the crucial opening goal against St Johnstone.

The way he cut in off the left and bent his shot into the far corner was fantastic. But then he showed another part of his game when he was alert to pinch the ball from Sven Sprangler and send Martin Boyle through for the second goal.

Hoilett was man of the match. He’s been outstanding for months whether it’s starting or coming off the bench and he looks like he’s still got another year or two in the legs. Don’t forget Latapy played on in the top flight of Scottish football until he was 40!

After leaving Hibs in his early 30s he spent two years with Rangers then another seven with Dundee United and Falkirk. It’s hard to replace that kind of magic. Players like Hoilett and Latapy can win you a game in an instant.

It didn't matter if Russell wasn't having the best of games, you just knew in a split second he could take the ball by somebody, slide a team mate in or