Hibs midfielder Kyle Magennis recalls Ibrox horror as he gets ready to confound his doubters

It’s almost three years since Kyle Magennis damaged his cruciate ligament, just seven minutes into a match against Rangers at Ibrox, and the Hibs midfielder has yet to exorcise the ghosts of that game.

Hibs midfielder Kyle Magennis is back from injury and ready to prove a point to his doubters. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

In the intervening period, more injuries and lengthy spells of rehabilitation, have deprived the 24-year-old of many opportunities to return to Govan and try to drive away the negative memories and replace them with more enjoyable recollections.

But, now, he believes the time is right, despite the fact the hosts will be brimming with their own good intentions of putting on a show for their new manager MIchael Beale.

“I did my cruciate there,” he said, recalling his final appearance for St Mirren, in January, 2020. “So it’s not a good place. It would definitely be good to change the memories [on Thursday].”

Having battled back from that cruciate injury, he has proved in spells just how useful he can be to Hibs if he manages a sustained run in the team. The latest spell on the sidelines, was tricky and prevented him playing as big a part as he would like in the team’s early season performances but the World Cup break has been instrumental in setting him up for what he hopes will be a more influential role in the second part of the campaign.

“I’ve got a point to prove. Some fans or some people may doubt me but I need to go and prove to them and go and prove to myself that I am the player that I was before [the injuries]. I truly believe I am.

“I played a few games before the break but having another few weeks to get myself fit and play some bounce games has definitely helped. It feels like the start of the season for me. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and staying clear of injuries. Hopefully I can kick on.”

The timing of the fixture sees Hibs provide the opposition in Rangers first Premiership contest since Giovanni van Bronckhorst was relieved of his duties and replaced by Beale.

“When teams change manager they always get a boost in the first few games. So, we’ll see what happens. Rangers at Ibrox is always difficult. Every time you play there they have a massive crowd. We just need to believe in ourselves.”

While Martin Boyle will miss the remainder of the season, Kevin Nisbet’s reintegration and the imminent return of Aiden McGeady - albeit probably not in time for Thursday - alongside Magennis, is timely.

Sitting three points off fourth spot, having undermined the good work of four wins on the bounce with a less impressive return of just one win in seven going into the break, they face a testing festive period, with the trip to Ibrox kickstarting a run of matches that also include head to heads with Livingston and Celtic before the January 2 Tynecastle derby.

“These are the games you want to play in, against the Old Firm and the Edinburgh derby, you want to show what you can do in these games,” said Magennis, thrilled rather than cowed by the prospect.

“Personally, I always believe going into every game that I can take something from it. There is no point playing football if you don’t believe in yourself.”