Can this Hibs team join Cup heroes and Mowbray's show stoppers as all-time fan favourites? Skipper sets target

Hibs captain Joe Newell has challenged his team to put themselves alongside the most popular Easter Road sides in modern history – by delivering trophies, triumphs and sustained success for fans desperate to worship a new generation of heroes. And Newell says providing a run in the Europa League or Conference League will be a key part of this team’s legacy, with the midfielder admitting that his own Euro adventures have already generated memories to last a lifetime.

English midfielder Newell, who expects to miss that first European qualifier against Midtjylland as he works his way back from major groin surgery, is blunt about his desire to see David Gray’s Hibs take their place in the pantheon of greats. In future years, he wants long-suffering punters to think of this side the same way they do the Scottish Cup winners of 2016 – or the team of terrific talents who turned Easter Road into such an electrifying venue when Tony Mowbray was manager in the early 2000s.

Easter Road captain aiming for ‘five years of sustained success’

“I would really love this team and for this group of players and this group of staff to be remembered, just as the 2016 team is, as the Scott Brown, Steven Whittaker era, Tony Mowbray era, all that,” said Newell, the 32-year-old adding: “I've been here long enough now, so I know the kind of groups and the teams that the fans talk about and the eras. I would love this group to be that in decades to come.

“That doesn't come off the back of one third-place finish. That comes off the back of three, four, five years of sustained success, European football every year. That's what I would love.

“Obviously, that doesn't come easy. That comes with a lot of hard work. Put ourselves in a good position, obviously, finishing in third place last season. The club’s in real good hands, and everyone’s in a real good mood.

“But European football year is always the aim here. I think if we want to be remembered as a group, that has to be non-negotiable. I think this season is about stamping your foot down.”

If you’re going to cite someone as inspiration, you might as well pick the best, right? Which makes it no surprise that, in the modern era, Newell should cite some obvious examples as role models.

Hibs supporters will always cherish 2016 Hampden glory

Yes, the 2016 Cup win will always be THE greatest day for multiple generations of Hibs fans. That’s an easy one, with David Gray’s presence as manager emphasising the link between then and now.

But anyone who was there for the Mowbray era can also testify to just how golden those two-and-a-bit years were, as Hibs – boasting the talents not only of Brown and Whittaker but a fairly decent, if raw, strike pairing in the shape of Garry O’Connor and Derek Riordan - played with a swagger and fervour that had fans on their feet and roaring for more. Newell has clearly heard more than one tale of derring-do from dewy-eyed fans who experienced that sugar rush.

Just over six years on from joining Hibs, former Peterborough and Rotherham player Newell is now immersed in the cut-throat realities of Scottish football. And he acknowledges that the challenge facing this team is unlikely to get any less daunting in the coming years.

With Hearts welcoming major investment from Tony Bloom and Aberdeen certain to invest, the battle just to third could be as intense as ever. Newell admits that the bar representing success will be raised by rivals strengthening.

“Yes, it will do,” he said, adding: “I'd imagine if you look back over history, that bar has always constantly been raising, hasn't it?

“Hearts and Aberdeen have always been in similar positions. We're all in healthy positions as clubs, financially.

“So, yes, the bar will always be raised. You've just got to keep moving with the times - and make sure we always want to be the best of the rest, don't we?”

European nights at Easter Road are ‘most special’ experience

On top of the demand to follow up their third place finish in the Scottish Premiership, Hibs face a daunting European challenge. With Aberdeen’s shock Scottish Cup win over Celtic securing the Dons guaranteed Conference League football, a prize that would have fallen to Gray’s men had the final gone to form, the Edinburgh side have been pitched into the Europa League second qualifying round – and handed an extremely difficult tie against Danish side Midtjylland by way of an introduction to this year’s UEFA programme.

Since signing for Hibs in 2019, Newell has been involved in two European campaigns. The first of those, ending as it did with a heavy defeat to Rijeka in the summer of 2021, is one he’d probably rather forget.

But the season 2023-24 Europa Conference League campaign, even if it did culminate in being torn apart by Premier League giants Aston Villa, will always be special to those involved. Newell included.

Luzern Conference League victory a forever moment for skipper

The skipper, who scored in the 3-1 home win over Luzern and played a key role in a famous 2-2 away draw in the second leg in Switzerland, talks in glowing terms about his family enjoying “the best day of their lives” as Hibs overcame the odds to secure that play-off place against Villa. Although he confesses that, in years to come, not all in the unofficial Joe Newell Fan Club travelling party will remember every detail of Luzern away, August 17, 2023 …

“Obviously, any of the new lads coming in and the boys who haven't played in Europe before, the message will just be that these most special nights you have here,” said Newell. “Obviously, the derby is always the number one; that's a non-negotiable.

“But after that, European football here is probably my second best memory. I'm thinking of Luzern. Yeah, Luzern, home and away.

“I still have so many ... My mum, stepdad and missus included, they went away to Luzern. It was the best day of their lives, I think.

“Not even the football, I think just the trip in general. My mate was swimming in the river after ten pints, I think! All of these things are so memorable for fans and that's why European football is so good.

“Obviously, they'll live with me forever, celebrating in front of the away end on that pitch over there. They're really special nights. Like I say, after the derby, it's obviously the next best thing.”

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