Hibs star on sweet football, brotherly love and the 'stinking' piece of kit key to his success
Gray’s men eager to maintain momentum with St Johnstone win
Nicky Cadden may be enjoying the sweet smell of success as he sparks a senses-scrambling turnaround in Hibs fortune. But does he owe it all to a “stinking” piece of kit that has seen him through SIX YEARS of niggling doubt over a historic injury?
The wide man, with five goal involvements in a run of form that has seen Hibs win five, draw one and lose just one of their last seven games, revealed a quirk of equipment choice when asked – not for the first time – whether the ‘armband’ he wears on match day is dedicated to someone special. The truth, it turns out, isn’t rooted in an emotional tribute to a lost loved one – but a nagging doubt for a dodgy shoulder joint.
“People think it’s an armband, but it’s actually a shoulder brace,” said Cadden, with a grin, the former Barnsley player adding: “So many people have asked about it.
“I dislocated my shoulder about six years ago when I was at Livi, yeah about six years ago. And I probably don’t to need wear it anymore, but it’s a mental thing.
“I just like to wear it these days – I remember going out for training one morning, realising I didn’t have it on and thinking how weird it felt. So I had to go back in and put it on before I felt right again.
“I’m actually not superstitious, it’s not like I get annoyed if I don’t stick to a definite routine. This is just a weird thing in my head.
“You should smell it though. It’s properly stinking!”
Nah, you’re all right there, Nicky. No need to get too close. Just keep performing and nobody will complain about the odd whiff from your locker.
For Cadden, who had to fight his way to full fitness after arriving with the season already underway, everything he’s doing at Hibs – four goals and three assists from just ten starts – is made all the more special by having twin brother Chris, now something of a long-serving player at Easter Road, with him every step of the way.
“It’s strange in some ways being here with Chris,” he said, adding: “He’s literally my best mate, so it’s weird seeing him every day at work – we get slagged because we’re always around each other, but it’s not something we deliberately do, it’s just the way we are.
“We just sort of hang about together. But we do try to mingle with the other boys sometimes!
“Honestly, though, it’s the best thing in the world. In this profession, getting to the top’s really hard, so to do it with your brother is so good.
“It was stop-start when I came here. I’d missed pre-season and came in late, which is probably why I got injured, but I’m back now, playing football and enjoying it.
“I love being here, love playing alongside my brother and it’s a really good club to be with. I tried to set Chris up for a goal in the derby and he really should have scored, but Craig Gordon’s made a good save. He did all he could to put it away, but it’s a decent stop.
“I’d love to claim the first one in the derby too. But I’m happy that I’m helping with a good few of our goals, so hopefully that continues.”
Bottom of the table at the start of December, Hibs head into 2025 just one win off the European places, Cadden – who bagged another assist as Nectar Triantis scored his first Hibs goal from a corner in Sunday’s 1-0 home win over Kilmarnock - pointing out: “That’s what happens with a couple of wins in this league. We’re going well at the moment and on Sunday we found a way to win in horrible conditions, which was really satisfying.
“Two months ago we’d have lost that game. But sometimes things go your way, you get the rub of the green and it spurs you on to get results like these. We always believed it would turn for us, it was just going to take one result.
“Now we have another big one against St Johnstone at Perth and we’ll be looking to keep the run going. It’s hard to win games of football, so once it’s happening you need to keep that confidence up, keep that momentum going.
“It was always going to turn. We’d been playing well but results just weren’t going our way. So now that we are, with four wins on the bounce, confidence is high and long may it continue.”