Source: Team_Talk
Benji happy with Hibs rotation
As one of four forwards at Hibs' disposal this season, Benjelloun has found himself in and out of the side.[LNB]But he claims he does not have a problem with not being an ever-present, as long as manager John Hughes continues to explain his decisions and the team extend their current 11-match unbeaten run in the Scottish Premier League.[LNB]"If you see Real Madrid or Barcelona, they change every week," said Benjelloun, who has resurrected his Hibs career under Hughes after a loan spell at Charleroi last season looked to have heralded its demise.[LNB]"I didn't start in the last two or three games.[LNB]"We have a long season and every player doesn't play every week.[LNB]"Everybody will have their chance; they have to keep working hard."[LNB]The 24-year-old, who has had to play second fiddle to Colin Nish and Anthony Stokes in recent weeks, added: "The manager talks with me every week.[LNB]"He said, 'We need someone tall to play up front'. So that's why he put Nishy up front with Stokesy.[LNB]"It's important when the manager puts you on the bench, he comes to say to you, 'That's why'.[LNB]"The most important thing is the team wins and we stay up the table."[LNB]Morocco international Benjelloun was full of praise for Hughes, who joined his boyhood idols from Falkirk this summer.[LNB]The pair enjoy some genuine banter at the club's training ground and Benjelloun ranks his new boss' man management skills alongside those of Tony Mowbray, who brought him to the club.[LNB]Benjelloun's contract is set to expire at the end of the season and he is keen to stay, although he revealed he has other "options" to consider.[LNB]His primary focus is breaking back into the side, starting with Saturday's game at Aberdeen.[LNB]After being held to a 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock last week, Hibs have seen themselves fall five points behind Rangers at the top of the table.[LNB]Some have predicted the Old Firm will now pull away but Benjelloun insists they can still be split - as long as Hibs win on Saturday.[LNB]He said: "We have to win this weekend. If we don't win this weekend, after this you can say it's finished.[LNB]"Rangers and Celtic are gone and we stay fighting for third place."[LNB]Despite their unbeaten run, Hibs have failed to win their last four away matches and Benjelloun has urged his team-mates to silence those who claim the Edinburgh club are a soft touch during the winter months.[LNB]"This is Scotland, so you have to play any time in any weather," he said.[LNB]"If you see the game against Kilmarnock, it was freezing on the pitch and all the fans now in Scotland say, 'When it's freezing, Hibs don't play well, and Hibs are soft'."[LNB]Benjelloun's former Hibs team-mate Kevin Thomson this week claimed his Rangers side and Celtic would finish between 15 and 25 points clear of the chasing pack.[LNB]But Benjelloun said: "He can say what he wants to say but he's thinking about his club, he thinks about history.[LNB]"But we think, in 2009-10, we can finish very, very close to Rangers and Celtic."[LNB][LNB]
