Hibs ace in 'money spent' claim over January transfer business as skipper Boyle sets new European target
Self-inflicted loss leaves David Gray’s men trailing in race for fourth place in Scottish Premiership
Martin Boyle believes Hibs have spent enough money and built a squad strong enough to challenge at the business end of the Scottish Premiership. But he’s challenged his team-mates to prove their value by bouncing back from last night’s brutal Edinburgh derby defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle – and putting themselves in the race for guaranteed European football.
With the shrinking coefficient and the Scottish Cup draw stacking the odds against the team finishing fifth in the Scottish Premiership qualifying for UEFA competition, the pressure is on David Gray’s men to catch fourth-placed Motherwell. A matter of weeks on from missing out on the chance to leapfrog Jens Berthel Askou’s team, Hibs currently trail the Steelmen by four points – and Motherwell have two games in hand ahead of tonight’s Fir Park clash with Rangers.
Socceroos striker says Hearts lost must be ‘blip’
Stand-in captain Boyle, who has been deputising in the leadership role during Joe Newell’s absence, believes last night’s loss to the league leaders was just a “blip”. And, asked if he believed Hibs were still a top-four side, the Socceroos striker delivered a blunt response.
“Absolutely, we've got to,” said Boyle. “We finished third last year. The ambitions of this club and the money that we've spent and the players that we have, I've no doubt in my mind that we should be in the top four.
“We have to just try and win every game. That's what we have to do. There's still a European spot up for grabs if we can try and get there.
“We'll have to put this behind us really quick, get three points on Saturday. It won't make up for this result, but it definitely puts us back in the right direction.”
Easter Road club did transfer business late in window
Their finances bolstered by the £7 million sale of Scotland striker Kieron Bowie to Hellas Verona, Hibs made half a dozen signings during the January transfer window. But they didn’t get their first new face in the building until just a few days before the window closed –and brought three of those recruits in on Deadline Day.
Boyle, asked if the addition of Dane Scarlett, Ante Suto, Owen Elding, Kai Andrews, Felix Passlack and Munashe Garananga had strengthened the squad, said: “Yeah, absolutely. I've no doubt in my mind that the signings we've brought in have been really good.
“I see the impact they've made. We've got to trust in what the manager's building here, exactly what we do every season.
“We've been on a good run of form in the league, minus the cup results. But it's just a blip, we'll have to take it on the chin. We'll all have to suffer from it, but we'll have to quickly move on.”
‘Masters of our own downfall’ - Hibs captain
Reflecting on the nature of last night’s loss, Boyle said Hibs had been culpable for throwing away at least a point, insisting: “We’re masters of our own downfall at the end. Letting them have two, three quick free kicks. Didn't get out to them, didn't stop across, didn't match a runner. Concede the goal.
“You know, we've been on the end of that this year before. So, yeah, it's obviously not great end of the game.
“Getting beat means there are probably no positives to take from it, if I'm honest with you. We were breaking the lines a lot. Just didn't really have that final quality in the box.
“It was kind of half chances. Maybe one the first half at the near post. Keeper’s made a good save, but yeah, it was kind of nothing in the game.
“We limited our set-pieces, which we knew they were good at. Like I say, we're masters of own downfall at the end. We let them get the ball in the box. And we're not there to defend it.
“You can see it coming. We have to stop these crosses. We have to stop them at the source.
“We're just not quick enough to get out. And we've paid the price. It was very similar to the last game here.”
Pressed on whether losing late goals had become a psychological tick in this Hibs squad, Boyle stressed: “We knew their strength in set-pieces and we've just not defended it the way we were supposed to do it. We've conceded a lot of late goals this season, we know that.
“It's not great, but we've also scored on the other week, which is a great feeling. But yeah, we'll have to digest this for the next few days and we'll go again on Saturday.”