Steven Gerrard Liverpool example for Hibs duo as boss makes English Premier League claim

Hibs boss Lee Johnson claims two of his players showed against Hearts that they have what it takes to play in the English Premier League.

Midfield duo Jake Doyle-Hayes and Joe Newell played well in the derby win – and the Hibs boss believes they should follow the example set by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard as a player by repeating those performances “week in, week out”.

"I thought were absolutely outstanding at the weekend (in the derby win over Hearts) and if they recreate those performances week in, week out I wouldn’t put it past them to play in the English Premier League," said Johnson.

“That’s the challenge. Steven Gerrard, as an example, could get to that level of performance pretty much every week when he was a player. What is that? It’s a mental strength, it’s a commitment, it’s a belief, it’s a confidence and they’ve got the vehicle to do that here.

Steven Gerrard scores for Liverpool against Celtic in a legends match.

“We’re competitive in every game and we’ve got very good players that can step up now and really improve not only as individuals but improve the team performance.”

Doyle-Hayes, 24, played for EFL League Two side Cheltenham Town on a season-long loan early in his career before moving to St Mirren and then Hibs. He turned down move to English third-tier Forest Green in January. Newell, 30, joined Hibs in 2019 from Rotherham and previously played for Peterborough, playing in both the EFL Championship and League One for both clubs.

Johnson has called on Hibs to replicate the intensity levels of last weekend's derby victory against St Johnstone on Saturday as they try to seal their place in the top six.