Can club captain Newell's return after almost a year out give Hibs the angry edge they need? That's the plan
Irish defender Warren O’Hora pays testament to leader’s influence in training and games
A few Hibs players have been proud to wear the captain’s armband in the absence of their undisputed club leader. Even among those happy to deputise for the crocked skipper, however, the full return of Joe Newell in all his teammate-berating glory is a joyous event.
Could Newell’s return to competitive football give David Gray’s men the edge they’ve been missing in a season of missed chances and self-inflicted damage? That’s the hope of all who stood to applaud the midfielder as he came on late in last weekend’s unlucky 2-1 home loss to Celtic, the 32-year-old making his first appearance since December of 2024.
“To have him back is a big, big plus for us, I must say,” said Warren O’Hora, one of the stand-in skippers deployed by Gray during Newell’s absence, the Irishman adding: “I think the reaction from the fans and the players when he came on the pitch was obviously a very good one for him. It's obviously been a tough place for him to be in recently.
“But Joe is the type of person that you need in a dressing room, in a group. He's a proper leader for us.
“Obviously, he was going through his own stuff with injuries and things like that, but he never let it show. Always backing the lads. The lads always come first. And to get him back is a great addition for us.”
Asked if Newell, never shy in directing the odd blunt bit of ‘encouragement’ to team-mates during training, had rediscovered that demanding attitude on his return from major abdominal surgery, O’Hora laughed as he admitted that even small-sided training games had become a little more intense, the centre-defender saying: “Yeah, of course. I think that's his nature. He always wants to win.
“He always wants to improve. He sets standards and that's what you need in this team. I think there's a few boys like that, but Joe definitely doesn't like losing at all.
“You need them type of players. Especially if you want to be where you want to be, that's the type of players you want.
“It's brilliant to see him. He's brilliant in giving advice to the young boys as well. He's obviously been in the league a lot longer than me and he can give advice on what he thinks and things like that.
“He's a great voice to have around us. He did a lot when he was off the pitch – but only going to be better for us when he's on it. Let's be honest. He's a captain at the club and it's brilliant to have him back. He's a great person as well.”
Gray has consistently praised Newell for showing leadership qualities even as his own dreams of returning to play were being dashed by a series of setbacks. It takes a different sort of character to not only survive but thrive in those circumstances.
“That just tells you what type of person he is,” said O’Hora. “He's a real team player for us and he's a proper leader.
“Like I said, last season would have been a really, really difficult time for him. Obviously, with the way we finished, we hit the target of what we wanted.
“Then he missed the games at the start of the season, which was the reward of the last season's finish. But like I said previously, he didn't let us down. He was always happy for us. He was always happy for the club.
“So everybody was absolutely buzzing for him, back on the pitch at the weekend. I'm sure we will see more of that, please God.”
Hibs still just two points off third place in Scottish Premiership
Back-to-back defeats to Motherwell and Celtic left Hibs vulnerable to a potential plummet down the Scottish Premiership table, with every team bar Livingston then involved in a midweek card. But the Easter Road side are still sitting fifth, just two points off third.
O’Hora admits that, as players, it’s impossible to ignore events elsewhere, confessing: “Yeah, look, you can't help but keep an eye on that, obviously, of course. But at the end of the day, you can only focus on yourself. You know, you're the one who has to either make it or not.
“So that's all we've done this week, is focus on ourselves. We can't control anything else. All we can do is look after ourselves on the pitch, work as hard as we can.
“You need to look at yourself before you look at anybody else, in my eyes. So we definitely look at where we can be better.
“I think you always need to do that, whether you have a good run of results or not. I think naturally, you look at the league table sometimes, and you look at the games ahead and things like that.
“We know we can really get a run of games going. We've done it in the past. We've done it a little bit this season. So we'll definitely be looking to put things right this Saturday.
“There’s some big games coming up as well. We play teams around us and can really put our mark on the league.”