Lee Johnson has delivered a behind the scenes insight into new signing Martin Boyle.
The Hibs fans' favourite returned to Easter Road earlier this month after departing the club eight months ago in a big money deal to Saudi Arabia. His move back to the capital sparked major excitement amongst the players and fans alike, and it was written in the stars that the attacker would have a huge say against Hearts as he climbed off the bench to fire beyond Craig Gordon with the final kick of the recent Edinburgh derby.
It's not just his impact on the pitch that Johnson is a fan of as he compared his new attacking threat as like seeing someone at the Fringe festival. He says the 29-year-old always has him shaking his head or laughing with his quick one liners. His signing also gave the atmosphere around the Hibs Training Centre a huge shot in the arm with the buzz felt across the full team after they found out Boyle was on the way back.
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Despite his standing with the club previously and the fans, Johnson was quick to point out that it is a new regime and he will need to earn his stripes like everybody else with the team picked on merit.
Speaking about the latest recruit, he said: “He’s just bouncing around. He is just funny. He has these quick one liners.
"Bojang had sat on his table today but then saw Lewis Miller sat on his own so Bojang went to sit with Lewis Miller and all I could hear was Boyler shouting: ‘That’s not good enough, you don’t want to sit with me then?’
"That’s a very small incident, it's those type of things, then all of a sudden it’s part of the conversation. He is over there talking about a Croatian, an Australian and a Gambian sat at the same table then he is making jokes, ‘A Gambian, blah blah’, that sounds like an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman.
“It’s like going to the Fringe and seeing someone like him interact with the crowd, a comedian. I’m always shaking my head or laughing.”
He added: “The atmosphere has risen, from the moment I'd told the lads that I'd signed him, you could feel it. We were training at Easter Road and everyone was buzzing - it's a lift. Obviously the new players don't know him, but they are interested to see the quality that he brings.
“They then lift their game. You can feel the fan buzz behind it. But it's a new regime for him, he's got to learn a new philosophy. It’s like when you put an old sofa in the garage, but when you need it you bring it back out. It was seamless. He’s part of the furniture around here anyway.
“Although he is part of the furniture he has to earn his stripes and I think he knows that as I pick the team based on merit.”
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