Hibs fan passion a double-edged sword - but Lowe happy to 'live and die by the blade' amid Easter Road mayhem
‘You score, you’re the hero, you miss, you’re the villain’ - Stoke City prospect wouldn’t have it any other way
Playing for something that means something. That’s why Nathan Lowe agreed to come on loan to Hibs. If that means the euphoria of victory is occasionally balanced out by some truly brutal criticism by a support base deeply invested in the cause, well, it’s a price he’s willing to pay.
The 20-year-old English striker knows that the passion he witnessed at Easter Road last night is just the flip side of the fan fury that greeted David Gray’s men after their 2-0 loss to FC Malisheva in Pristina. Having achieved personal redemption by scoring the killer third goal in a 4-1 home win to secure UEFA Conference League progress, making amends for the two chances spurned in Kosovo, the Stoke loanee wants to immerse himself in Scotland’s often-undervalued footballing culture.
Target man loves that fans set standards
“I'd much rather the fans were ecstatic and there was some really good noise when we're winning, and that they voice their opinions when we're not, than people who are just amicable and they're fine with winning or losing,” said the youngster, who described the atmosphere for last night’s European comeback as “incredible.”
Offering some valuable insight into the individual and collective mentality that went into the game, and reflecting on his own personal turnaround after being cast as a scapegoat in the eyes of many just a week earlier, Lowe said: “Yeah, so obviously I had a big chance and a half-chance (in Pristina), I'd say in my terms last week. And, you know, it's the life of a striker.
“You live and die by the blade. You score, you're the hero. You miss, you're the villain. I take that in my stride, and that's just part of the job description for me.
“It’s one of the easiest goals I'll score this season. I'm buzzing to have scored, but I don't think it was anything close to Martin Boyle’s goal or some of the other ones, so I think that's credit to them. I was just there to put it away
“That atmosphere for the home game was incredible. Especially that end with the drum and all the people with the microphones, I think that was incredible. It's stuff you don't really get as an experience in England, and it solidified my reasoning for coming up here.
“Like I said, live and die by the blade. Within reason, it's okay to be held accountable. We're expected to do our job.”
‘Sadistic’ Lowe happy to go through hell early
Pressed on whether being exposed to the fire and brimstone that make the Scottish game so interesting could have a positive effect on the squad, Lowe declared: “In a weird, sadistic way, it was nice to get it early. So to know that in the early part of the season, understand these are the standards set at this football club. And rightly so.
“I think we should be held accountable, within reason, obviously. I can understand it as a fan, especially the ones that travelled and spent all that money to go to Kosovo to watch us, and brought the noise and the atmosphere when we didn't deliver. That's part of football. I think we've owned it and we can move on from it.
“I'm sure it's not going to be the last time this season that they're going to be disgruntled or unhappy with us, and that's just the life of football. We're all fickle human beings in the industry, so I think that's just how it goes. One week it's great, next week it's not so much - but that's just football.
“After last Thursday we were all counting down the days, really. I wish it could have come sooner, in all honesty, because that week was, you know, tough. Like, all the outside noise.
“But at the end of the day, I think the belief, even looking around the changing room before we went out, you could see it from the first five, ten minutes. We just set the tone, and we all believed, and that was the critical thing - running all over them, running for each other, fighting for each other.
“It showed on the pitch and translated. And hopefully we made amends to the fans and the organisation for the previous Thursday, which we'll hold our hands up for.
“I guess we learnt the lesson early doors. The complacency and whatever it was. I'm not speculating, but for whatever reason, the performance we put in wasn't good enough.
“I think we learnt from it. Hopefully, we don't take the foot off the gas. I know I'll certainly try my best (against Shkendija) Thursday.
“We've got to try and get as many past them as possible in the first leg. We'll see what happens in North Macedonia.”
Before Hibs can even turn their attention to opponents who made it to the third qualifying round of the Champions League last season, they’ve got Motherwell at home in their Scottish Premiership opener. And so the Sunday-Thursday-Sunday carousel begins in earnest.
Lowe is ready for that, pointing out that his grounding on the EFL treadmill has given him the legs to cope. Physically, he surely won’t be found wanting.
Insisting that his hold-up and link play feels even more important than scoring goals, the very things he lives for, he said: “I take pride in being able to build, being a big, traditional No. 9, trying to fill out into my body. I'm still only 20, but I'm sure as the years progress, I'll get stronger and be able to do even better.
“I think the Malisheva game was a good example of how to play and what I can bring to the league. I've heard the Scottish Premiership is a really physical league, so hopefully people can take some solace from that.”