McBride ready for midfield spade work at Hibs

Published on Wednesday 29 July 2009 10:00

KEVIN McBRIDE knows he's unlikely to see his name up in lights, but today the Hibs new boy insisted he'll have no complaints at living in the shadows of team-mates such as Derek Riordan and Merouane Zemmama.

But while Riordan, Zemmama and others may grab the headlines throughout the coming season, McBride will be more than happy simply to work away in the engine-room of the Easter Road midfield. Scoring goals will be left to others but McBride has been handed a pivotal role in the formation and style of play boss John Hughes wants from his players.

More often then not, McBride is the first player on the ball, dropping deep to take it from goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay and thereafter directing play as he makes himself available to switch the flow of attack while providing a "safety blanket" in front of the central defenders as both full-backs are encouraged to drive forward on the flanks at every opportunity.

As a result, McBride sees more of the ball than most, well aware his role within the team will lead to him being described as a "midfield workhorse, the hod carrier or a players' player" as onlookers revert to cliches in a bid to define his job description.

None, of course, carry the same cachet as midfield maestro, dazzling winger or lethal hitman, but McBride shrugs off any suggestion that he'd revel in a little personal glory.

He said: "I'm not here to play for myself but to do a job for the team. I'm not going to be a Derek Riordan or a Merouane Zemmama and put one into the top corner.

"I play for the team, to provide the ball for them and to do a defensive job, breaking up play and getting them on the ball to do their magic. I am not that type of player, I never have been and I never will be. But I can do a job in there, that's my position and I am happy.

"You hear all the cliches but I don't bother with what people say, I'm not interested, I'm happy to do what I do for the team."

As Hibs' pre-season preparations move on to the next level, facing Preston North End on Saturday in what will be their only appearance at Easter Road before the SPL action kicks off a fortnight later with a visit from St Mirren, McBride believes the message Hughes has been trying to impart to his players is beginning to bear fruits despite the disappointing defeat by Shamrock Rovers, the first under the new manager's reign.

He said: "I think we perhaps struggled a bit at the start but I feel we can see signs that it is all starting to gel together, everyone now has the picture of what he wants us to do.

"Of course it was a little disappointing to be beaten in Dublin as you don't want to lose any game. They scored with what was their only shot on target in the entire match but that does happen in football. We had a lot of possession, enjoyed the territorial advantage and while we were disappointed not to turn all that into goals I think that in terms of passing the ball about and doing what the manager wants, the performance was good.

"We had a goal chalked off which might have made a difference and there were a few dodgy offside decisions but we were happy with the way we passed the ball, it was a good work-out for us."

In Rovers, Hibs came up against a side which, because the League of Ireland is based on summer football, had played 23 competitive games plus friendlies against Newcastle United and Real Madrid in the previous couple of weeks, while Hughes was missing a number of key players.

Zemmama, pictured right, returned to Edinburgh following the 2-0 win over Glentoran in Belfast as he didn't possess the necessary visa to enter the Republic of Ireland while Ian Murray and Jonatan Johansson sat out the game in the Tallaght Stadium through injury as a knock restricted captain Chris Hogg to a seat on the bench where he was joined by John Rankin, Kevin McCann, Danny Galbraith, David van Zanten and Kurtis Byrne.

Although the two games were important in terms of pre-season preparations, McBride insisted the five days spent in close company was also hugely beneficial, particularly for newcomers like himself, Patrick Cregg, Galbraith and new goalkeeper Graham Stack, whose hamstring problem prevented him making his first appearance for the club on Monday night.

He said: "When you join a new club it's good to get away as soon as. We have a great bunch of boys who have made us all welcome. I knew a couple of them before but it does you good to get away together and to get to know each other that bit better.

"We've been speaking about Saturday for a couple of days and we are all looking forward to it. I've obviously played at Easter Road before for the likes of Motherwell and Falkirk and it's a terrific stadium with a great atmosphere. I obviously can't speak about last season having not been here, but you can detect a real buzz about the club and the fans at the moment."

As former Falkirk players McBride knows that he and Cregg could well come in for closer scrutiny than the other newcomers, given they've played for Hughes in the recent past but he insisted that doesn't place any greater burden on their shoulders.

He said: "The gaffer has brought us here because he feels we can do a job for this club. As I have said, I am not an individual player nor is Padge who, while having great ability on the ball, will also work hard for the team.

"We are here to work for the team and that's what we are aiming to do.

"At big clubs there is always more pressure on you and Hibs are a big club so it is up to us to strive to drive things forward. Everything is geared towards hitting the ground running when St Mirren come to Easter Road two weeks on Saturday.

"But we still have a lot of work to do before then both on the training ground then against Preston and, following this weekend, two great matches against English Premier League opposition in Blackburn and Bolton Wanderers which will both be very tough tests for all of us."