Lewis Stevenson glad of Hibs action after '˜surreal' dinner

Lewis Stevenson says he will feel much more comfortable in Hibs tough clash with Dumbarton. Picture: SNS

The 28-year-old was the subject of a sell-out night that included a live appearance by The Proclaimers last Saturday to celebrate his decade of loyal service to the Easter Road club.

With 850 supporters, family and friends in attendance, the normally reserved Fifer was forced out of his comfort zone by the stream of well-wishers and footage of former managers and colleagues ready to heap praise on him.

However, the full-back hopes to feel more comfortable back out of the limelight again today as Hibs seek to maintain their 100 per cent league record.

Stevenson, who donated more than half of the proceeds of his dinner to charity, said: “It was a bit surreal seeing your name and your face plastered everywhere.

“I usually like to take a back seat at these things, but it’s hard when it’s your own testimonial!

“It was really nice and really humbling to see all the support and hear the nice words people had to say. But the whole way through it I felt embarrassed. Just seeing the videos and everyone talking about you, like old managers and the manager now, sometimes it’s off-putting when you see people saying so many nice things about you.

“I’ve had a few things that haven’t been as nice in the past – and it’s almost easier to take that than when people say nice things about you!

“But it’s back to reality at Dumbarton. It’s back down to business and focusing on the football, which is the most important thing.”

Stevenson and his team-mates became the first Hibs team since 1974 to win their opening four league matches when they routed Morton 4-0 a fortnight ago and are seeking to match a record stretching back 70 years with another victory this afternoon.

However, the capital outfit lost on both their trips to face Dumbarton last season, results which dented their promotion hopes, and Stevenson admits today’s result could be a sign of whether progress has been made under new manager Neil Lennon.

He added: “Our league form has been good and we’ve been getting the results.

“Maybe some of the performances haven’t been picture perfect, but we’ve been getting the results, which is the most important thing.

“It’s the first time in 42 years we’ve actually won the first four league games, which shows how good it’s been.

“But it can change on a sixpence, so we have to be focused on every game; every game has its own tests and every game is as difficult as every other one.

“We didn’t win at Dumbarton last season, we got beat twice in the league, so this will be a test to show how much we’ve come on as a team.

“If we can go there and get a result it will show we mean business this season. This is the biggest test we’ve had this season, it’s going to be tough.”