They say you should never go back but Hibs are right to make an exception for Martin Boyle.
Fresh reports claim the club are making a move but to be honest I don’t think rumours of a return have ever gone away. He’s a huge hero round Easter Road and there’s no doubt the fans would welcome him back with open arms. I’ve heard Ron Gordon himself say similar words to the effect already. To be fair to the owner, he hasn’t held back from investing in the club on and off the park and if he has to dig deep to get the Squirrel back from Saudi Arabia I’m sure he will.
That would be a massive boost for Hibs, especially with Aiden McGeady now out for the foreseeable future. He’s been missed badly since he made the move to Al-Faisaly in January but securing his return is just what Lee Johnson needs now. Unless he’s lost two yards of pace while he’s over there Martin will still be able to offer a lot.
There’s been plenty of examples when it’s worked out. Just look at Anthony Stokes when he came back to Leith 2016. For me he basically won the club the Scottish Cup that year with his Hampden performance. To be fair he hadn’t done much in the run-up to the Final! I was watching a lot of the team that year while working as a pundit and he’d been terrible for weeks.
But when that glorious day came in Glasgow he turned it on big style. Hopefully Boyler can make a similar impact if the deal goes through. It was great to see the lads get off to a good start up at Perth on Saturday.
There’s no doubt there was a wee bit of pressure on Hibs after the way the Premier Sports Cup group went. So it was a huge result for them to go up to Perth and grind out a win. It was so vital for the team to get off to a great start with Hearts up next week and Rangers due in town later this month.
That’s a tough run for the first month of the season but they’ve set themselves up nicely for the derby. There’s nothing better than a last-minute winner so hopefully Josh Campbell’s goal buys the squad and the new boss a bit of time after a tricky start.
And if they can back it up by beating Hearts on Sunday, that will wipe all that negativity that’s been hovering over the club in one swoop.
Jack Ross had his derby record held against him because he didn’t win enough of the big games.
But if the new boss can get off to a winning start against his old side it will deposit a great big chunk of credit in the bank with the punters.
For me, the pressure is all on the Gorgie men. There’s no such thing as a free hit in the derby but I reckon Hibs can go into this one now feeling a little more relaxed. Hopefully by full-time they won’t have a care in the world.
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