Hibs icon Martin Boyle reveals remaining ambition ahead of Easter Road swansong as farewell target set
Tough family conversations to come - and a World Cup dream to realise - as veteran heads for exit
He’s certainly enjoyed what he calls “the full ride” of 11 years, give or take one minor interruption, as a Hibs player. But any thought of resting on laurels and wallowing in even the most well-deserved ovations is anathema to Martin Boyle.
The veteran Socceroos forward, who was scheduled to embark on an elongated 30-hour journey to Sydney this morning, will probably spend a fair chunk of his three flights – plus a couple of layovers – musing on how close he came to marking his 400th appearance for Hibs with a stunning goal. For a second there, it looked as if his spectacular volley in yesterday’s nil-nil draw with Motherwell was going to drop just under the bar and inside the far post.
Heading Down Under for Australia’s penultimate pre-World Cup friendlies, Boyle obviously has his sights set on this summer’s finals. Moreover, he knows he’s got a fight on his hands just to make the squad heading to Canada, Mexico and the USA, with Socceroos boss Tony Popovic unlikely to let sentimentality affect his judgement on a player who missed the 2022 World Cup through injury.
But all of that can be filed alongside such minor matters as where Boyle will be playing his club football once he finally calls time on his Easter Road adventure at the end of this season. For now, he’s got ambitions to fulfil – and getting Hibs back into Europe, even if he’s not around to take part in the campaign, is a prime objective.
After a couple of weeks spent listening to coaches, team-mates, former team-mates and supporters eulogise him for his efforts, Boyle insists he’s trying to avoid thinking about the inevitably emotional scenes likely to surround his final game or two for Hibs, declaring: "We'll worry about that nearer the end!
"It'll obviously be tougher telling the kids. They're a bit oblivious at the moment, but I'll worry about that later.
"There's still a lot of work to be done, and I'm focused on that. I'm going away with Australia now, so I'm heavily focused on that. I'll try to make a mark there, and keep working hard like I always have.
“And European football is the aim, that's the ambition. It's not a million miles away, until it's mathematically impossible, but the belief that we have in that dressing room, if we can get a good run of fixtures together, it'll be a very exciting end to the season.
"We firmly believe that we can do it. So hopefully we can."
Hibs need to finish fourth in order to guarantee a crack at European football for the second straight season, with the side ending up fifth in the Scottish Premiership reliant on Celtic winning the Scottish Cup to deliver a lucky losers’ place. Not a scenario Boyle – who will be officially off the books by the time the domestic season winds up at Hampden on May 23 – is eager to repeat.
"Yes, well, there was cup drama last year that didn't go our way so we know we can't depend on that!” he said, with a laugh. "If we can do it by finishing fourth, that would be great. We just have to wait until the end of the season and see what happens."
Socceroos ace ready for World Cup challenge
Sure to receive offers from Australia and closer to home now that he’s in the closing weeks of his contract, Boyle bats away questions about whether he’ll travel to the World Cup as a free agent, saying: “I couldn’t tell you. It doesn't have any relevance to what I'm doing at the moment.
"I'm still going to keep working hard. I've not thought about it and I won't until the end of the season, when I step away from the club, but I'm going to enjoy it until the end of the season and hopefully we can have a positive end to it.
"Fingers crossed I can get there (to the World Cup), if I keep working hard, and then we'll see what happens. If something happens, it happens.
"But I'm not guaranteed to be selected in that squad, so I have to keep my head down, keep working hard. There are a lot of young boys coming through in the Australia squad, so they're keeping me on my toes at the moment, so fingers crossed I can do that, and then what happens in the future, what happens.
"But my main aim is to finish strong at Hib. And hopefully I can go to the World Cup.
“It’s big for everyone, the World Cup. I had the disappointment of missing out on the last one.
“But I don't feel like anyone owes me anything and that's why I'd be selected, because I had the disappointment last time – I have to earn it. And that's exactly what I'm trying to do.
"Nothing in football is handed on a plate to you. I'll keep doing what I've been doing for my whole career, I'll keep working hard and if I can manage to get in the squad then I'll embrace it. And if I'm not, then I'll be able to hopefully fly out with the family, enjoy a holiday and watch them.
"Football's a tough sport, you have to be performing every week and to represent Australia at the world's biggest stage, I know I have to be on top of my game, so I know exactly what's in front of me. I know it's going to be extremely hard work, but hopefully I can just keep being me, keep working hard and hopefully I've got another big moment in me to finish off this season well and then take me into the World Cup.”
Middle East crisis impacts on travel Down Under
Boyle will have company on the trip Down Under to play Cameroon and Curacao, with Ante Suto receiving his first call-up this week. The old-timer can guarantee that a few things about the experience will come as a slight schok to the new boy.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if he's been jet-lagged before, but I'm sure he'll enjoy that,” said Boyle, who revealed that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East was going to impact on his plans, explaining: "A lot is going on in the world and that's a bit disappointing with the flights, so the travel's a bit different.
"We've got a bit of a longer route to go. He'll be fine. He'll enjoy it, it's his first taste of it, so hopefully he grasps it with both hands, and he can make a name for himself out there.
“We go Glasgow to London, then Kuala Lumpur and then Sydney, so a couple of layovers as well. But when you're representing your nation, I'll do anything, I'll go anywhere the world takes me.
"It's pride, so hopefully I can get there safe and just keep working hard. I'm not exactly sure how long it is, maybe 30 hours or something, but I'm experienced now, it's normal for me.
"I look after myself, and we get looked after on the way there. A business class seat's like a king-size bed to me, I'm that small, so it's alright for me!
"But representing your nation is what I want to do. So I'll do anything, any means of travelling, I'll be there."
The journey would have been more enjoyable had that volley hit the back of the net, Boyle admitting: “I did think it was going in. But I did think that against Legia Warsaw at the start of the season as well, so maybe one day they'll go in. It would have been a special moment and a nice day – but it wasn't to be."
Rarely one to venture too deep, at least in public, into the emotional side of football, Boyle may not find it easy to avoid some of the attention as the season winds to a close. The last man standing from the Scottish Cup win of 2016, he’s only spent half a season away from Hibs, courtesy of a lucrative but short-lived stint in Saudi Arabia, since joining the club in 2015.
"Yeah, it's been a long time, hasn't it?” he said, adding: “I've been through a lot of highs and a lot of lows, and a lot of memorable moments.
"I've just appreciated it. I've just enjoyed the full ride, to be honest. I've worked hard for my full career, and to get to this moment, it's fantastic.
"To battle through all the operations I've had on my knees, I kind of look back and think I could have had more, I could have been a lot closer to 500 games. But I've always come back from those setbacks, so I'm still enjoying it, I still love it, so hopefully I can keep going.”