Wait for first Hibs goal not playing on Grant Holt's mind

Grant Holt is unfazed by his failure to find the net at Hibs so far and remains confident he will go on a hot streak once he breaks his duck.
Grant Holt is enjoying life at Hibs. Pic: SNSGrant Holt is enjoying life at Hibs. Pic: SNS
Grant Holt is enjoying life at Hibs. Pic: SNS

Despite starting each of the Easter Road side’s five competitive matches this term, the 35-year-old striker is still waiting for his first goal since arriving at the club early last month.

Holt has acted as an effective foil for strike partner Jason Cummings, who has netted three times, but the veteran, who has bagged close to 200 career goals, is eager to start scoring himself.

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“I’ve been quite happy with my form since I came here,” he told the Evening News. “Probably the only thing I’m missing is a goal. It doesn’t play on my mind though. If you’re not getting into good areas and nothing’s falling to you or you’re not getting your head to anything, that’s when you’re a bit more concerned and you panic. But last weekend [against Dunfermline], I probably could have had three.

“I’m getting in the right areas and getting chances, but at the moment it’s not going my way in front of goal. Everything seems to be hitting someone or going the wrong side of the post at the moment, but that’s football. You’ve got to be there to miss them. I’m getting on the end of plenty things at the moment, so hopefully it’ll turn soon.”

Holt doesn’t want to be viewed merely as a veteran who has been brought in to aid younger players like Cummings. He wants to contribute heavily himself in terms of scoring and is optimistic that he can enjoy a prolific season with the Scottish Championship title favourites.

“I’m all right, my confidence is still high,” he said. “I think I can score a lot of goals here. If I’d taken my chances in the last few weeks, I’d probably be ahead of Jason.

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“The main thing is that we’re winning games, but there’s always the selfish part of you that wants to score goals. Scoring goals is why I play football. The goals haven’t got any smaller in size, so it’s exactly the same job I was doing ten years ago. Sometimes you go through spells in your career where everything you hit, the goalkeeper saves. You’ve just got to keep getting in the right positions and keep believing in yourself, and one will go in eventually.”

Holt has toiled to generate sustained momentum since leaving Norwich City three years ago, but is adamant he still possesses the required fitness levels to remain a regular starter for Hibs. “I feel great fitness-wise,” said the striker. “At my age, you’ve got to be a little bit cleverer with what you’re doing. I don’t know if I will play every game because that’s up to the manager, but I certainly feel like I can.”

Holt, who is signed to Hibs on a one-year deal, is enjoying life in Edinburgh, even though his partner and three daughters are still living in Norwich. “My family are up in Edinburgh for ten days just now,” he said. “They’re up every other weekend and I go down and see them as well. It works quite well. We’ve done it for a while, so you get used to it. I can get a flight to Norwich in an hour, so it’s fine for me. It used to take me three hours to drive home from Wigan, and that takes its toll, so being in Edinburgh is better in that regard.

“It’s football, it’s life. A lot of people work away from home. When your kids are in school, you can’t take the family everywhere with you. They’re settled where they are. It’s just the life of a footballer. You just have to make the best of the situation, and luckily for me, it’s perfect here because the manager is good with me and I can get a flight home in an hour, which is ridiculous. I’m enjoying being up here. It’s a good club in a good city with a good group of boys, and I enjoy being here. It’s also good that we’re winning.”