Daryl Horgan reveals why he left Hibs for Wycombe, looks back at Easter Road career and his forgotten goal against Rangers

Move to Championship side ‘came out of the blue’

Daryl Horgan celebrates scoring against Hearts at Tynecastle - a 'special day', according to the winger

Daryl Horgan has had a whirlwind couple of weeks since leaving Hibs to join English Championship side Wycombe Wanderers.

A goal on his debut in an EFL Cup clash with Brentford was followed up with a last-gasp league defeat at the hands of Rotherham.

Such is life, reasons the 28-year-old, as he reflects on the last few weeks in an exclusive interview with the Evening News.

The Irishman featured in Hibs' first five matches of the campaign, so it was something of a surprise when his Easter Road departure was confirmed.

Speaking ahead of Wycombe's trip to Blackburn this weekend, Horgan revealed: “I didn't really see any of it coming.

"I still had a year left at Hibs and was planning to see it out and take it from there, but then Wycombe came in and it was something I had to sit down and look at.

"It was a good option for me and it was something I felt I had to take. I think it was a mutual thing.

"A new contract at Hibs would have been talked about a good bit down down the line. I don't think there were even any initial conversations about it.

"I was very, very set on seeing the season out with Hibs and hopefully having a good year but it just came about. It was something I was interested in and it just became more and more evident that something was happening.”

Wycombe might be the Championship new boys, but Horgan is well aware of the pressures of life in England's second tier thank to his season and-a-half at Preston prior to joining HIbs.

Horgan continued: "It's going to be a tough year but the plan is still to go out and win every game we play, to stay in the Championship and hopefully be as competitive as we can be.

"The Championship is a hard, hard slog - but it's a hard slog for everybody. Hopefully we can ruffle a few feathers."

There's also a very familiar face in the dressing room at Adams Park in the form of ex-Hearts striker Uche Ikpeazu.

“Yeah, Uche got here a little bit before me but he's been really helpful. He's a really great guy,” said Horgan.

"Going from being bitter, bitter rivals to team-mates is a bit different but he's a good guy.”

The former Dundalk winger is fully focused on his new club but is still keeping an eye on Hibs, and is hopeful they can end Rangers’ impressive start to the season on Sunday.

Looking back on his time in green and white, Horgan admits the Capital club fell short of expectations in previous seasons.

He said: “Hibs are flying this season. Before I left we got 13 points in August and last season it took us until December to get to that stage. Mad.

"No bones about it, we've not done well enough the last couple of years. Finishing fifth is okay but for a club like Hibs, they should be really challenging for top four which we never really did. We were just too inconsistent.

"The next two games [against Rangers and Celtic] will be tough, but if they keep playing the way they have been then hopefully they can ruffle some feathers.

“Rangers have started like a house on fire as well. No goals conceded in seven games? That's incredible. It would be nice to see Hibs end that."

Horgan knows all about scoring against Steven Gerrard’s side, having netted at Ibrox last season, but it’s not something he wants to remember.

He groaned: "Oh don't, we lost that game 6-1! And there are no positives when you're beaten 6-1.

"It's the forgotten goal; the most irrelevant goal ever scored in world football. At the time, I really thought we could get back into it but it turned out the other way, unfortunately.”

Rangers come calling on Sunday but it’s the performances against stuffier teams that have helped Hibs attain such a high league placing so early on in the campaign and Horgan feels it’s imperative that his former team-mates can keep that up.

He explained: “There's an ability to grind out results when we haven't played well. Look at Dundee United: we didn't play well, but we won 1-0.

"Motherwell were probably the better team for large stages of that game and we got the draw and even Kilmarnock: we beat them 2-1, but we still had to see out the end of it.

"You're not going to be brilliant every week but to be able to do that, that's why Hibs are right up the top end of the table, and why they'll probably stay there this season.

"There are no season-defining games - not this early. If they can keep winning, even when they're not playing well, they'll be right up there because there's already a bit of a gap forming between the top four and the rest.

"If they can keep that distance and momentum then it will be a very successful season for them.”

Horgan played 81 times for Hibs during his time in Edinburgh, scoring ten goals and laying on 16 for his team-mates, but it seems pointless to ask him if there's a particular highlight from his time in Scotland.

"When we beat Celtic 2-0 at Easter Road [in December 2018], that was brilliant; one of the games I most enjoyed, but scoring the two goals at Tynecastle was just incredible,” he said.

"It was class; a special day for me, but it meant so much to the fans. There's that picture where I'm sliding in and the fans are just all mobbing each other ... unbelievable. Something I'll never forget.

"I had a brilliant time at Hibs; I loved it. It's a great club, it's just a pity we couldn't be more successful while I was there."