Hibs stalwart Campbell on shock positional switch that turned his game upside down

Campbell, pictured scoring in the friendly against Watford, has been charged with creating and taking chances. | SNS Group

Josh Campbell didn’t grow up dreaming of playing like Andres Iniesta, Michel Platini or any of the other great creative forces who made their living by pulling strings and orchestrating opportunities for the guys up front. Nobody, it seems, is more surprised by his evolution into a bona fide No. 10 than the player himself.

"Never!’ he said, with some force and a big grin, when asked if he’d always yearned to THAT guy who creates chances and chips in with goals for his beloved Hibs, the attacking midfielder – now 24 and quickly becoming crucial to new gaffer David Gray’s plans – pointing out: “I've actually played centre-half most of my time at the club.

“Under Eddie May, we won the double with the reserves, and I played right centre-half. So, yeah, it's a bit of a change - but I don't mind it.

“I've been working on it on the training ground, playing in that sort of cool-headed zone where I can see the ball and receive a pass, and then judging the weight of the pass. That's something I've been working on and it's paying off in the cups. Now I have to take it into the league.”

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An academy kid who was thrown into development team training while still in his first year in high school, with then-youth coach May – now an assistant to Gray – trusting him to shine alongside 20-somethings, Campbell can still recall the first time he was asked to fill what the Italians call the trequartista role, revealing: "It was Jack Ross. I couldn't believe it - me, a 10!

“I've had No. 4 or 5 on my back the whole career as a holding midfielder or centre-half. I've adapted to the position now, though. I feel like I can thrive in that position now.

 

"Being on loan at Edinburgh City helped me massively early in my career. I went in thinking I was going to play as a central midfielder ... and it turned out I was playing left-wing every game.

“I've now ticked off every position on a football pitch! I saw the game differently, receiving the ball in wide areas, taking on people that you wouldn't normally do as a midfielder. And shooting, crossing all the time. It helped me a lot.

"Sometimes it helps, having played so many positions. I've played right-back a few times and struggled a few times there, but I've just done a job for the team. You get bits and you add them altogether - and it has helped me play as ten. I now know where positions will be on the pitch because I've played them.”

May has been critical to Campbell’s development, as he explained: “He's always been someone who has stuck their head on the line for me. Eddie was that for me when I was younger.

“I was coming in at 13, 14, training with boys who were 22-years-old in the development team. He always pushed me up the age groups when I was younger. He's been like a father figure to me.

“He's a different guy now, he's changed - he's not as angry! But if you're at the game at the weekend, you'll certainly hear him shouting my name like a dad.”

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Campbell has good memories of the venue for Sunday’s big Premiership kick-off, having scored his first goal for Hibs in a 1-1 away draw with St Mirren back in 2021. With a certain David Gray serving his second of four stints as interim head coach, following the departure of Shaun Maloney.

 “I actually think the gaffer was in charge of the game,” he recalled, correctly, adding: “I was just coming into the team. I'd just played a couple of games. I think we drew 1-1.

“I started the game, I scored - and then I got a bit excited about scoring and ran about too much. Then he took me off because I was knackered!

"I'll run through a brick wall for anyone that is in charge, but he (Gray) is important because he's done so much for me during my time at Hibs. He's always put his neck on the line for me and put me forward to past managers to play games. I think everyone through there would run through a brick wall for him.”

Gray sees Campbell as more than just a useful weapon in his armoury. In a team short of firepower but also still prone to flaky moments at the back, his athleticism means the gaffer can cheat a little bit, tactically. While he is officially playing that CAM role, he’ll always track back like a box-to-box midfielder of old.

But the emphasis is on creating – and taking – chances, with Campbell admitting: "I don't normally set targets - but he's told me what I need to do. I need to be in that picture for when a goal is scored. If I'm in that picture I can add numbers to my game. I want to add more assists to my game. If I can balance the goals and assists out, that would be perfect for me.”