Top line summary:

  • Motherwell game shows there are always ways of getting results against the big two
  • Personal ambition is to win the Scottish Cup
  • Enjoying changes to his role in midfield 
  • Impressed by loan players' attitudes 

What do you remember of the last win against Rangers?

“At Hampden, yeah, it was surreal, being 3-0 up in something like 35 minutes. And, for a bit of context, we were on a horrendous run at the time. The manager [Jack Ross] got sacked not long after, and the form going into that meant we were written off before the game started,

“They had Giovanni van Bronckhorst coming in as manager, he hadn’t been appointed yet. But it was amazing, 3-0 up so quickly, Martin Boyle doing what he does. It’s a great memory. Probably one of the best memories I’ve had.

“It’s a surprise that we haven’t beaten them since because, especially around the Covid era, we had a couple of performances where we played really well but didn’t get what we deserved.

“The belief is there. We know that, if we put a performance in, we’ve got more than enough to come away with a win. It’s been a long time – but that’s something we’re looking to change.

Was the St Johnstone final a missed opportunity that year?

“The one thing I want to do most is win a cup here. I’m desperate for it, to be honest. We’ve had so many near misses, so many opportunities where you look back and ask yourself, 'How did we not do the job there?’

“So I’m desperate to win a cup with Hibs and, obviously, the Scottish Cup is the main target. You win that, you go down in history. We’ve got a few boys here who did it in 2016. They still talk about it being the best memory of their lives.

Did that make the St Johnstone defeat worse?

“Not because of that. It just hurts losing a final. Not really because of the final before. It’s just hard to take when you lose a final. Winning the Scottish Cup is my personal ambition, the one thing I’d love to achieve here.

Is the gap between the top two and the rest wider or less wide now?

“Obviously the gap is big. There is no getting away from that. The finances are there in black and white, aren’t they? The gap is huge, really.

“But because you play each other so much up here, you can figure things out. Motherwell the other week would have looked at their previous games in the season, come up with a game plan – and pulled off a result that wasn’t so much a shock, but one you wouldn’t expect.

“If you have a game plan and you look at your recent performances against them, there are always ways of getting results. We just haven’t done that enough, recently, against Rangers.

As a midfielder, what does Emiliano Marcondes bring?

“He is quality on the ball, you can see that. You’ve seen it in glimpses where he has been very, very good.

“His first game was at Kilmarnock away and we were saying to him, 'Listen, this is going to be a tough one, first 20 minutes you might not get as many balls into the pocket and it’s a horrible pitch and they go man for man’.

“And then he went out there and he’s flicking it over people’s heads within five minutes! So he has real quality and all the boys who have come in have done really well.

“It might have taken them a couple of weeks to get up to speed, but they’ve all settled in really well, and their attitude has been really good. I think that’s always a bit of a worry for me when you get loan players in, where their mindset is and their attitude towards the club, because we’re in a sticky situation in terms of needing to get into the top six. So they’re coming in at a crucial time but their attitude and commitment has been really good."

Has your own game changed with the tactical switch to three in midfield?

“Yeah, definitely. I’ve played a bit deeper the last few weeks which is something quite new to me, to be honest.

“The Celtic game was the first one, the gaffer asked me to sit in front of the back four and have like a one and a two in midfield.

“It’s something I have quite enjoyed. It was new to me and I enjoy learning about the role, I quite like that in football, I always want to learn and look at different ways of playing and stuff.

“It’s not going to be the same every week, there will be times when we will be a two and a one in the middle or maybe one or a two or go back to a two, it’s not set in stone. But I have enjoyed the new role."

You've got previous for winning cups... 

“I don’t know what it’s called now, I think it was the Johnstone's Paint Trophy when I won it. That and a couple of finals in there but nothing else. I don’t even know where the medal is, I’m not really like that, I don’t have any shirts or anything like that on the walls.

“But the cup is one I would do anything to win. No matter what happens in my career or a lot of people’s careers here, if you win the cup with Hibs it would be one of, if not the greatest achievement of your career."

Winning the cup would mean European group-stage football too...

“Definitely, exactly. That would be nice…whoever is sitting third! That’s obviously the added incentive. For the club and the finances it’s huge. It would be amazing to get back into Europe, we loved the little run we had this year, albeit not getting into the groups.

“So if you won the cup and got guaranteed group-stage football it would be amazing. Initially my thought would just be to win the cup, the legacy you would hold from that would be enough in itself.  If you give me the two I’d rather win the cup."