Martin Boyle taking new Hibs stand-in skipper role seriously as Easter Road funny man insists he can 'flick a switch'
Hibs prankster Martin Boyle knows he’s got a reputation for nonsense off the pitch.
But the stand-in Leith skipper reckons Sunday’s rescue mission against Rangers proves he’s deadly serious about his new leadership role on it. With club captain Joe Newell out injured, Boyle has taken over the armband for the Easter Road outfit’s last two games.
For some, it’s a surprise choice given Boyle’s well-known love of capers and a carry on with his team-mates. Boss David Gray even admitted that if it had been suggested that Boyle would end up one day leading out the team back when he sat next to him in the Hibs dressing room, he’d have laughed in your face. But Philippe Clement’s men didn’t find it funny as Boyle put on a true captain’s performance to help his team snatch a draw in Sunday’s 3-3 thriller.
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It was the Aussie international's double that saw the capital club recover from two goals down, with Rocky Bushiri adding a third after Hamza Igamane wrapped up a Rangers hat-trick. Asked if he’d had to curb his mischievous side, Boyle grinned as he said: “I’m just the same guy as I normally am.
“A lot of people don't take me seriously around the place, but look, I've never changed who I am. When I cross that white line, I can flick a switch.
“A lot of people will probably find that hard to believe, but I do my talking on the pitch. I try to lead by example on the pitch. I'm working hard in training, as I do every season. Hopefully, I can lead by example that way. There's loads of leaders in our changing room.
“We've got Gayle, Junior Hoilett. There's loads of experienced boys in there. It's not just me getting thrown in. It is an honour to also be captain of the club, but rightfully, Joe's the captain. If I can help in any way, then perfect.”
The dizzying draw with Gers means Hibs are now six games unbeaten under former skipper Gray. And their return to form has coincided with Boyle’s own recovery a wrist injury that clipped the flying forward’s wings.
He said: “I think [the injury held me back]. Speaking now, it wasn't ideal at the start of the season, stop-start. I had a big cast on, got a bone graft in my hip. It was playing up. But now, I'm really finding my feet, changing position, a lot more freedom.
“I feel I can get around the pitch more and press with intensity. I've been working really hard. I just didn't enjoy sitting on the bench either, so it really hits home. When you get that opportunity in your shirt, you have to keep it.”
The dropped points in Edinburgh will raise more questions over Clement’s future at Ibrox but Gray is feeling far more secure in his role having put his early season troubles behind him. Having found themselves bottom of the Premiership only last month, they’re now up to seventh and only a point behind St Mirren in sixth.
Looking back on Sunday’s stalemate, Boyle said: “We’re showing that character a lot now. Maybe at the start of the season we were not quite there all as a group, but now it's starting to come together, which is good.
“Thankfully we managed to get a point. We could have won it, we could have lost it at the end. It was a bit chaotic, but it's a good point coming back from behind.
“Was that a game that could have got away from us earlier on in the season? Yeah, 100 percent. I feel like we didn't really have that belief that we were going to go on and win games at the start of the season, and now we do. We're all in it together. We've been working hard. As a group, we're all in it together, which you can see on the pitch. So that's really important.”
They’re all in it together in the stands too. The toxic atmosphere that was evident at times during a grim run of just one win in 15 was replaced by a mood of encouragement and positivity that refused to crack even after Hibs fell two down inside 20 minutes.
“Yes, the connection with the fans is there again, 100 per cent,” declared Boyle. “The following has always been there.
“At the start of the season, it was kind of disconnected. Rightly so, because we weren't performing to the best of our ability, which is understandable. They pay a lot of money to come watch us and the performances weren't good enough. Now we're starting to turn it around. They've always been there.
“The atmosphere today was brilliant. You just try not to let it impact your game, but obviously, like you say, when we're here winning games, there's no better place, there's no better atmosphere than here, believe me.
“I think that's kind of what we tried to install into the new players that came in. When this place is jumping, it's unbelievable.”
