Hibs stopper on surprise season highlight that 'will live with me forever' - and it's not a victory!

For all the amazing highs Hibs have enjoyed – and created – in a season notable for a record-equalling unbeaten run and a series of spectacular one-off results, it’s an aspect of the dark days that will stick with Warren O’Hora the longest. Because it was during those bleak early months of the campaign, when first-year head coach David Gray was trying to generate some sort of upward momentum for a team stuck to the foot of the Scottish Premiership, that this group came together; forged in the heat of defeat after defeat.

“The highs we had and the run we went on in the season was incredible, it put us in the position we are today,” said O’Hora, the Irishman adding: “You have to give credit to the whole team, including the staff – they've been amazing.

"For everybody to pull together in that sticky patch was something that will definitely live with me forever. The dressing room was amazing; the gaffer and his staff have been unbelievable for us all season. They've stood by us, believed in us, and hopefully we can get rewards at the end of the season.

"Going through all of that definitely dragged us together, there's no doubt about it. The feeling in the dressing room, the togetherness to come through that adversity was something that will live with me forever.

“To have those feelings and to have a squad that has each other's backs constantly, no matter what we went through, is something you don't always get in every dressing room. It's definitely up there with the best dressing rooms I've been in, if not the best.

“Some of the people we have are from different countries and they've got plenty of experience, there's plenty of youth, so, you have to credit the club for that, for the recruitment and that. Come the end of the season, let's hope we're all celebrating and looking forward to what's next."

Former Brighton prospect believes ‘good people’ are secret to success

A former Brighton prospect who had played almost all of his senior football at MK Dons before arriving in Edinburgh last summer, O’Hora settled into the group immediately. The centre-half, at 26, has a decent idea about why that happened – and what makes what he would call a good dressing room.

'I think it’s the characters,” he said, adding: “Good people. I think that's definitely something that you can see straight away from what we are.

“First and foremost, we're good people. We know how to work together, stick together, help each other out.

“The quality on the pitch is there to be seen, the league tells the truth at the end of the day. The points we have put us in the position to sit third at this moment.

“That is it in a nutshell, really. It's a good dressing room. You can go on about a lot of things, but the togetherness that we had and we still have, we definitely still have it. It's definitely put us in this position; there's no doubt about it.

“You learn a lot in football, especially in defeat. The old cliche is: 'You win, or you learn,’ isn't it?

“We had a lot of times that we had to learn, especially at the start of the season. We learned to stick together through the moments.

“We learned to come out and do fun games where things weren't going well and we turned it around. That was the sign of a team that's together, good characters and that's really shown throughout the season.”

St Mirren test followed by visit of Rangers - with European guarantees on the line

Hibs can virtually secure third place in the Scottish Premiership with a victory over St Mirren in Paisley tonight, regardless of how Aberdeen fare at home to Celtic. With three points and a whole heap of goals separating David Gray’s men from the Dons, the Easter Road side are strong favourites to secure guaranteed European group stage football next season as a reward for their league placing.

O’Hora, acknowledging that it could still take until Saturday’s season finale against Rangers to get over the line, said: “Yeah, obviously exciting moments for us, big two games coming up - and the biggest one is the next one which is tomorrow night. No doubt it will be a tough game, obviously they can still fight for a good position as well and everybody in this building knows exactly what is at stake. It's a really good game to look forward to and there are high stakes on it now for us, so I'm really excited for it

“They've obviously taken some points off us during the season and no doubt about it, it's a tough place to go. That's why they're a good team, that's where they are in the league and we'll have to respect that, but ultimately we're a good side as well. So we'll definitely be looking to take three points.”

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O’Hora is entitled to feel that his move from Milton Keynes, where he’d been club captain, has definitely panned out. And not just because he’s settled well in the capital with his young family, daughter Hadley having been born early in his first season as a Hibee.

"Can't take the smile off my face,” he said. “At the start of the season you're probably thinking: 'Well, what's going on here?'

“But look, the place, the city, the club, the fans, every staff member has been amazing. I spoke about the players already and what we are. This move has definitely been successful, I'd like to think. Hopefully, by the end of the season, I can definitely stamp that."

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