Lee Johnson revealed a "very important person" at Hibs told him not to play derby hero Martin Boyle - and joked the unnamed figure is in for some stick. The returning winger, registered to play at the 11th hour after agreeing a move back from Al-Faisaly on Saturday, climbed off the bench to score a 95th minute equaliser in a dramatic draw with Hearts.
Lawrence Shankland's first-half strike appeared to have earned all three points for Robbie Neilson's side but Boyle sparked wild Easter Road scenes with a trademark finish moments from time. The 29-year-old revealed post-match he hadn't kicked a ball since June and that may have figured in a member of Hibs' hierarchy urging Johnson not to risk him.
But the Hibs boss threw the Australia international into the fray with 30 minutes to play and he came up trumps to secure his team a point - and ensure Johnson can indulge in some "I told you so" on Sunday night. The manager told BBC Sportsound: "There was one very important person who told me not to play him, so I'll keep that right in my back pocket and not tell anyone! I'm sure I'll have a little bit of banter with that person!
"On days like this you've only won three points or lost three points, but it becomes bigger than that because of the rivalry. If you look at the league campaign to get that goal and score two goals in 90 minutes, shows the physicality of the boys and they don't give in at those moments.
"I think we need more quality, I do. We need to go out with a bit more football arrogance and believe how good we are. I certainly believe in the lads and I just want them to take their best performances a bit more often.
"We were really brave as a team. The substitutes we made were brave as well, because putting Boyle on for that long was a bit of a risk. But we know what we can do and he's popped up at the right time with a Roy of the Rovers return."
Johnson admitted he hadn't watched Shankland's opener back amid suspicions the striker could have been penalised for handball. Instead, the former Sunderland boss was more disappointed with his team's defending - and vowed they'll get better in time.
He said: "I honestly haven't seen it so... yes! (laughs) I'll have to let everybody else judge that one but I was disappointed with our defending. We talk about defending on a piece of string, if one gets caught the other one comes across and the full-back should be across.
"There was too big a gap to allow the runner to get in between us, that was frustrating. At times we were a bit rash but we'll get better. I said to the boys we'll get more cohesive, people will understand each others' runs a little bit more. It was important we didn't lose the game and when five minutes of injury time go up and you're 1-0 down, it feels like a victory at that point."
