No white lies at Hibs this time around as Joe Newell explains why his belief is so strong
Easter Road side need a win - but there is no panic because of what has been assembled over summer
Hibs are yet to win in the Premiership this season, but Joe Newell is not panicking. He has full belief that the squad is capable of bringing success to Easter Road.
Appointed club captain this summer, you would not expect anything other than the 31-year-old to be positive. There is a public face to be worn, even if behind the scenes there is tumult. But Newell says he is not bluffing, that the team and club is going in the right direction under head coach David Gray after massively underachieving last term. Defeating Kilmarnock on Sunday, the only team beneath them in the league, would be the ideal way to back up such confidence.
"It's something I'm massively enthusiastic about," Newell said of the infrastructure and squad at Hibs. "I imagine a couple of times over the years, people have sat here in front of you [the press], myself included, and might have just told a little white lie and said, we're still on a good track and when really you are probably thinking, ‘I’m not sure how we're going to go’. Admittedly, we've not had the start we wanted, but it's far from the end of the world.
"And the belief that I've got and I know that everyone else has got in the football club and the squad now is something night and day really to what has been previous. So, yeah, it's obviously not the start we wanted, but like I say, we're in a place where I think this season I'm fully confident. I really am.
"I might be completely wrong. But the squad we've got now, I see it in training, and the people we've got in charge and the things that we've worked on and the little aspects that maybe you guys and the fans aren't seeing yet, but I know that will come. There are lots of little details that make me full of confidence."
Talk in football can be cheap, though. Hibs drew 2-2 last time out against Dundee, conceding a late leveller, but there were green shoots of recovery from a team that had previously lost twice in a week to Celtic and slumped to a 3-0 opening-day reversal by St Mirren. Newell admitted that afternoon in Paisley cut deep and that a phonecall the following day from Gray helped him in the infancy of being skipper.
"I had a good discussion with the gaffer after the first game, the St Mirren one, because no one likes losing," continued Newell. "Whether that be big games, average games, whatever, training, 90 per cent of players I've played with hate losing. The St Mirren first game of the season, the way it happened and stuff, I remember feeling really, really down and kind of hit me a little bit more to be honest.
"And the gaffer rang me, I think he rang me the next day and kind of, it was as if he knew how I was going to be feeling. He was like, ‘I’m just giving you a little chat, just see how you're feeling because you're going to feel it a bit more’. And I was like, ‘well, it's funny you say that because I have done, yeah’. But again, it's something I'll get used to, I imagine."
The obvious way to stop such pain is by winning football matches. After three victories against lower-ranked opposition in the Premier Sports Cup, Hibs have found the going tough in the Premiership. Following Thursday's Europa Conference League exertions, a jaded Kilmarnock team could present an opportunity for Hibs to go into the international break with a spring in their step. While Newell preaches equilibrium in the dressing room, there no doubt a win would assuage some of the doubts among the Hibs faithful.
"You can't be too high and you can't be too low," said Newell. "It's a message that gaffer's big on as well in our meetings. We'll have stages throughout the season where we go on good runs and we're all in a good place and stuff. And that'll be the same message as what's probably been over the last couple of first weeks.
"It's obviously a bit trickier. Don't be too down. You can't be too down because there's going to be a game coming up in four or five days, and then don't be too high because as soon as you get too high, you're going to get slapped back down again. So it's something that obviously, whether you're a captain or not, or whether you're a manager or not, if you're a football player - you can't get carried away with a rollercoaster. You've just got to try and stay on the level."
Newell has now been a Hibs player for five years and after penning a contract extension in the summer, the Englishman can now genuinely contemplate seeing out his career at Easter Road.
"I'd say the contract I've just signed is probably the one that I think I'm probably going to be settled in now," said Newell. "With the leadership role I've go, I'm settled and it's probably a bit of a funny one, as maybe early on in your career…I’ve always wanted to do well for whatever club I play for, obviously, and that's the main thing, but every football player is going to want to do well for themselves.
"You're playing for your career, for your family, for your financial security or whatever it might be, whatever your motivation is.. Whereas now, I'm at an age and I've got the captaincy where the club probably comes before me as the individual now for the first time. So, yes, I'd probably say I'd like to see myself here long-term. Or as long as they'll have me!"
Win games and that won't be a problem. A good time to pick that up would be in Ayrshire.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.