Hibs legend deserves grand Hearts send-off - Gray talks Boyle grabbing another 'Sunshine on Leith' moment
Easter Road set for fitting finale as veteran striker prepares to bow out in style
You rarely get what you deserve in football. Sometimes, however, the beautiful game actually lives up to a description more often used in mockery than in any honest attempt at accuracy.
As Martin Boyle prepares to take his leave of the Edinburgh derby after thousands upon thousands of hard yards covered, countless important contributions and a handful of truly spectacular personal moments, the Hibs veteran is arguably entitled to expect a little payback in his farewell appearance. Few would enjoy that more than David Gray.
The Easter Road boss, who estimates that he’s spent more time with his former team-mate than he has with his own family over the past decade or so, has more to worry about than one man’s personal mission. But there can’t be many at East Mains unaware of what this particular game, on this specific weekend, means to a character like Boyle.
“In terms of affecting him, I think he'll be looking forward to it,” said Gray. “The same as every other derby.
“I know a lot's been said about him. And now, because it naturally comes towards the end of the season, when a player like Martin is going to move on.
“But in terms of his mindset, his focus, where he's at, I'm sure he'll want to go out with a bang if he can. And if it's his last derby, which it will be, there's no better way to go.
Club anthem rang out after December derby win
“Make sure you go and win that. And hear that song, Sunshine on Leith. I think that's a massive driving force for him.
“He's someone who's been there and done it, experienced it. And deserves to go out on such a high for what he's given to the football club. And that's fully on his mind at the minute, is to make sure he can end this season as strong as he can.
“Because he's also got individual motivations as well, with the World Cup, and trying to force his way into that Australia starting XI. So, all in all, Martin Boyle, I'm sure he'll be looking forward to it, as with everybody else. But he's also someone who's played a lot of these and knows exactly what to expect.”
Team-mates know how much it means to striker
Asked whether he would address Boyle’s last shot at derby glory in his pre-match chat with the team on Sunday, Gray said: “I'm not so sure it's necessary, to be honest. I think everybody knows, Boyle being Boyle, he's very upbeat and ready for every game, to be honest. In terms of his attitude and mind set, every single day, he doesn't change.
“When I think back, I've probably spent more time with him than I have with my family in the last 10 or 11 years. I don't know how long we've been together. He's the last man standing from that group, he joined the club when I was still playing.
“He's been a fantastic servant for what he's done. He's got over 400 appearances, over 100 goals for the football club. That's some feat.
“As I've already said, his full focus and mind set is to finish this as strong as he possibly can. I expect him to add to that before now and the end of the season.
“He joined the club as a joker type boy. He's leaving the club still a joker. He's still that same boy, to be honest.
“He joined the club a boy and he's leaving a man, I would say, at the same time. A lot of people, if you don't really know Martin Boyle, would look at it and say he's always laughing and joking and always messing around.
“But his level of professionalism is really, really high. He's a really top professional.
“It's when people don't watch, when you see what he does in the day-to-day, there's no coincidence he's had the career he's had and how effective he's been and still continues to be. He’s obviously going to the World Cup now and the challenges he's got.
“My wish for him is that when the time comes, when that final whistle goes on the last game of the season, we'll be talking about, hopefully, him having added to what he's done this season and hopefully finishing on a high. Because it's what he deserves for him and his family, moving forward.”
Have Hearts opened door to other title challengers?
Hearts sitting top of the table with five games remaining obviously adds a certain edge to Sunday’s contest. As for what their sustained challenge does for other clubs – Hibs included – tempted to go all-in to challenge the Old Firm duopoly on a more regular basis, well, that’s a bigger question. One Gray does his best to address.
“I think the league's improving in terms of the teams that have really added to a really strong league this season,” he said. “This many games in, there's no doubt Hearts have been very consistent, which is why they are where they are still at this stage of the season.
“Now, at the halfway point, would people be saying they still expect him to be there? Because of history, the easy answer would be to say no.
“But at the same time, Del (Derek McInnes) has done an incredible job, very consistent all season. Which is why they find themselves in a title race still at this stage of the season.
“It's very easy to look at outside and say: ‘Oh, it's because of X, Y and Z.’ Not at all, it's taking care of what you're doing every single day. That doesn't happen by accident at this stage of the season.
“But internally, whenever we focus on what we are trying to do, we're looking to improve all the time. So last season was a really good season because we finished third, having started the way we did.
“This year, top six cemented quite early, which is good. But we want European football back-to-back, something that's eluded this club for a while, or not happened too often in recent years.
“We've got an opportunity to go and do that again this season, which would be success. But you're always looking at how do you improve, how do you get better, and how do you always move the club forward?
“And that starts right from the very top with the ownership. The Gordon family really driving forward and wanting to try and move the club forward as much as they can all the time.”
In a game as random and cruel as football, of course, entire empires rise and fall on the angle of a bad bounce or the brilliance of one blinding moment of inspiration. Which is where someone like Boyle comes in, right? It’s a beautiful thought.