Actions speak louder than words, or so the saying goes, but Christian Doidge backed up one with the other as he insisted he has no intention of departing Hibernian any time soon.
The chatter surrounding the Easter Road side’s five-goal hammering of Clyde centred on the omission of defender Josh Doig and his impending £3 million-plus move to Hellas Verona in Italy’s Serie A.
However, a hat-trick from Doidge inside the first half an hour of Lee Johnson’s competitive debut in charge of Hibs ensured there were plenty of other topics for discussion in an increasingly expectant home support.
It appeared at one point earlier this summer that Doidge could be on his way out of the Leith outfit. With former manager Jack Ross interested at Dundee United, and English clubs also keen, Doidge was apparently told he was free to leave if he so wished.
With three goals and a bright performance at the tip of Hibs’ vibrant attack, the Welshman gave an early indication of what he could bring to Johnson’s side and followed that up with an emphatic pledge to fight for his future at his current club.
“I’m really happy here,” he said. “I love playing for this football club. I’m not aware of any speculation or anything. I keep myself to myself and concentrate on my job for Hibs.
“I’ve got two years left on my contract, so I’m not going to go anywhere unless I really want to go there. I love playing for this club and I feel I’ve got something to show and prove, and I am going to continue to do that until someone tells me anything different.
“We had a conversation at the start of pre season. [The manager] told me where he saw my role. We had a really good honest conversation and it was nice to get some clarity.
“Now I’ve played the first game of the season and hopefully that tells me I will be playing in the first league game of the season. But I have to keep working hard and see what happens.
“I haven’t spoken to him any further. I’m just concentrating on myself and getting fit and being in the best possible condition for this football club. I’ve started a game of football for the first time in a long time [since March 5] and I’ve scored a hat-trick so I’m delighted.”
Johnson said afterwards there were some ‘red flags’ in Hibs’ performance that would need some work on the training pitch but, without new forward signings Elie Youan, Jair Tavares and Momodou Bojang because of work permit delays, there was also plenty in their first-half display to provide satisfaction.
They had victory effectively secured after just a quarter of the game and were five ahead by half-time. When Doidge bundled in the opener with his chest from Elias Melkersen’s deflected cross it broke the dam and the goals kept coming.
Melkersen flashed in the second himself before Doidge clipped in the third from Jake Doyle-Hayes’ perceptive pass. Doidge that completed his hat-trick just a minute later when Hibs’ high press worked a treat and Clyde coughed up possession for Chris Cadden. Josh Campbell’s deflected strike just before the interval made the second-half something of a non-event.
With a new manager to impress and an enthusiasm over the new game-plan, Doidge was thrilled with his start to the campaign, and to put a Covid-19 and injury affected year behind him.
“It’s just nice to be fully fit,” he added, whilst admitting he will never give up on his dream of a call-up from World Cup-bound Wales. “I’ve not even missed a training session. I’m really enjoying it.
“It’s been a really good pre-season so far and it was great to get a start. We played some really good attacking stuff in that first-half and I love being in the box and being a nuisance.
“When a new manager comes in you’ve got to try and impress him. He knows I’ve been here a few years now and obviously if you look at my last season it wasn’t great, was it? So it’s nice to be fit and available, hopefully throughout the year, and it was nice to show him that I’m a goal threat.
“I’ve worked hard this pre-season after a long time off with not much football. It’s gone well for me so far and hopefully that continues.”
There was no Josh Doig for Hibs after he was left out ahead of signing talks with Hellas Verona following Hibs agreement of a £3 million-plus transfer fee with the Serie A side.
“I’m delighted for Josh,” said Doidge. “He is such a good lad and he’s improved so much in the last few seasons. He deserves the move. He deserves the opportunity to play at a higher level.
“It’s also a great bit of business for the football club and it’s the chance to play in Italy for Josh. It will be great for him and his family. He’s a great kid and I’m delighted for him.”
