Exclusive:Hibs ace on need to 'embrace' pressure, Euro hopes, Scottish Cup woe - and AFCON Edinburgh derby watch party
‘This is Easter Road, my friends!’ How Bushiri celebrated win over Hearts with impressed international team-mates
Rocky Bushiri has revealed how he had his Democratic Republic of Congo team-mates tuning into Edinburgh derby action even as they travelled to a crucial AFCON clash in Morocco. And the Hibs star has revealed how European ambition can help David Gray’s men salvage a season scarred by Scottish Cup failure.
Bushiri, who revealed some of the lengths he’d gone to in pursuit of match sharpness while away on international duty, was disappointed to be part of the starting XI dumped out of the Cup by Dunfermline at East End Park last weekend. The focus at East Mains this week has been on bouncing back quickly – and with intent – in Saturday’s Scottish Premiership away contest with Falkirk.
After finishing third in the league last season, completing a remarkable turnaround from a horror start that saw Hibs rooted to the foot of the table at the start of December, Gray’s team entered the new campaign full of optimism. An exciting – but short-lived – European adventure was backed up by league form good enough to keep them in touch, just about, with the upper placings in the elite division.
Over the past two weekends, however, they’ve missed out on a chance to overtake Motherwell and occupy fourth spot – despite extending a five-game unbeaten run in the SFPL – and then suffered that embarrassment in Fife. Although they remain two points adrift of the Steelmen, the Easter Road side are still within nine points of second place.
Bushiri, addressing the demand to improve on a stop-start campaign, said: “You know we have done really well last season to change and to turn things around, and so the expectations are higher. They should be. The pressure is bigger.
“That's what you want as a player so we embrace it. There will be ups and downs, and there have been a few crucial moments that have turned into downs.
“But the season is not over yet. So you need to stay focused and to keep working hard and try to improve. We can do better in some moments.
“The ambition, that's for the club. The ambition is always better than you did last time. So if it's in the game, if it's the way of playing, ambition, we need to see a progression. That's the ambition.
“And then towards the end then you can say: ‘Okay now you need to go full for that place, that place ...’
“But we know when you are at Hibs you want European football and you want to fight for a cup. Unfortunately we have failed for the cup; that’s part of football and we are all disappointed but you can't change it. You can't change it. It's done now so you have to go and achieve the maximum.”
Central defender’s impressive fitness regime
Bushiri played against Dunfermline off the back of just a single training session after returning from Morocco, with the DRC having reached the round of 16 before losing to Algeria. Although he only played in one of his country’s four games at the tournament, his second AFCON experience after being an unused squad member on the road to the third-placed play-off two years ago, the central defender managed to maintain peak fitness while away.
Gray spoke previously about his confidence in the 26-year-old’s ability and determination to stay sharp when away from the grind of club training. And Bushiri admitted that he puts a lot into the details that make up the bigger picture.
“So basically when I go to a tournament like that or when I'm away, I am in touch with the physical coach and I make sure the relationship with both physical coaches are on point,” he said, adding: “So I can basically reproduce what I would do.
“If I am not playing, I would compare my stats with what a centre-back has done during that game so I can repeat it to maintain my shape. So yeah, of course, I mean nothing really changed just by being away, whether that’s for the AFCON or hopefully the World Cup; the ambition is to get as much game time as you can.
“It was a good experience, being at the tournament. I mean that was my second AFCON and I think, yeah, I'm really happy because the first AFCON was more coming into the national team world, big competition, visualising a lot.
“I did set myself a goal to play this AFCON and to come into it the best possible way, and I think I've done it. The friendly we played just before going to the AFCON was a good game where I started and I added a cap and my first goal so in itself the whole experience, the whole AFCON is positive.”
Being away at the Africa Cup of Nations meant missing club games, of course. Bushiri, Miguel Chaiwa and Jordan Obita were all absent for a number of fixtures.
Out of sight didn’t mean out of mind, of course. And, just as Hibs fans were tuning into AFCON coverage to follow their favourite players, it’s also true that the players were following events back ‘home’ in Edinburgh.
That was especially true on December 27, as Hibs ran out 3-2 winners over Hearts in an Easter Road classic that was more one-sided than the final score suggest. Even though Bushiri was on his way to face eventual AFCON winners Senegal – clearly the best team in the tournament, he argues – in a game that ended 1-1.
“I was able to watch the Hearts game because the derby was an early kick-off,” he revealed. “So we played Senegal that day - and we were watching the derby on the bus.
“I had it on my tablet with a few of the boys. Like we have Balikwisha from Celtic that was watching with me, and one of my best friends at the national team, we were all watching the game.
“I was telling them all: ‘This is Easter Road, my friends! This is what it’s like to play for Hibs!’ Of course they were impressed by Hibs. People know how exciting it is, football over here.
“I followed a few games but you know sometimes it was like when we were on our way to our game or on the way to our training. So I tried to follow and stay in touch with some of the boys in the team - but it's also important to be able to fully focus on where you are at the moment.
“When I am at Hibs I focus full on Hibs, when I'm at the national team I have to put my full focus on the national team. Now I am back, I am fully focused on Hibs.”