Hibs star convinced squad has enough players who have faced adversity to drag them from 'difficult situation'

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The defender has opened up on his lack of game time amid a disastrous start to the season under head coach David Gray

Rocky Bushiri knows all too well the challenges and possible consequences a torrid run of form can have for a football club - but the upbeat Hibs defender believes that their fortunes can change quickly.

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Bushiri, who made his first start of the league season and took over the armband when captain Joe Newell was substituted at Dens Park, has issued a rallying call to his team-mates after facing similar periods of adversity during his time in Belgium and south of the border at previous club, Norwich City.

Rocky Bushiri during a Hibernian training sessionRocky Bushiri during a Hibernian training session
Rocky Bushiri during a Hibernian training session | SNS Group

“Yes, I do,” Bushiri admitted bluntly when asked if he sees enough quality in the group of players to transform their fortunes. “Football can go very fast. And like I said, I've been in Belgium, I've been in England, and I've also been in those situations. I think in the changing room, there are players that have been also in the past, in their clubs, in difficult situations, in the situation where we are now. And know what to do to go back up.

“So the confidence will come with a win. Confidence will come with results, of course. But by giving everything, we will create confidence at some point.

“It's hard to say now, but of course, in every game, there are positives. It's difficult to think about every game now. I think the staff analyse every game and take the positives. That's what we try to bring into the next game and the next game. The game we played on Saturday, the positives are that we started well on the front foot. We scored an early goal, so those are also positives to take.

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“The atmosphere can't be great because you are not winning football games, but you need to take things in context, not out of the context. When you have a red card, we had this a lot this season, so that has also affected games. I think everyone is still 100% motivated to do well. It's not like people don't try.

“Listen, most of the players are over 100 games, over 100 professional games, so we should have the character and the experience as well. OK, still a few young, we are still young, but we have now the experience, so I think we can turn this around.”

The Dons head to the capital tomorrow in the wake of their first league defeat in 21 games under manager Jimmy Thelin. A narrow 2-1 loss against St Mirren in Paisley could leave the North East outfit vulnerable to yet another quickfire setback and Bushiri reckons it would be a huge psychological boost for the squad if they were to record a win that would lift them off the foot of the table.

The DR Congo internationalist stated: “Yeah, of course (it would huge psychologically), but let's look at ourselves. I think that's the most important. That's what we need to do and don't look at what other teams do now. Let's focus on us and getting a win first.

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“Like I said, things can go fast. You win three games. The next press conference will be completely different. Of course, let's take it game by game and see where we end. It may be hard to say, but let's not look at the table, but look at each game.”

In contrast to last season, Bushiri has cut a frustrated figure on the bench for much of the campaign and his game time has been limited to just seven appearances, of which only three of them have been as a starter. It’s a challenging aspect of the game that has taken its toll on the defender, but he is determined to prove his worth to David Gray after confirming he has held a number of “private chats” with the under-fire boss about his first-team minutes going forward.

“It's difficult,” he revealed. “It’s hard because last season, I was playing a lot. And not playing has affected me, but of course, we underachieved last season. The club wanted to try something different and change. And I need to accept that. As a player, at the end of the day, you need to accept that and keep working hard.”

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