HAPPY PHEW YEAR
HIBS v KILMARNOCK Boyle’s relief as feared Lenny rocket turns out to be a pat on the back
MARTIN BOYLE feared the Hibs squad were set for another savaging when boss Neil Lennon called a team meeting yesterday morning.
But that dread turned into relief when Lennon instead piled praise on his players for having a great 2017.
The Easter Road boss hailed his side for securing promotion back to the Premiership and reaching two cup semi-finals during a thrilling 12 months.
Yet Boyle knows the perfectionist will demand even more in 2018 – and that the Hibees will feel the wrath of their gaffer if they end this year with a defeat to Kilmarnock this afternoon.
The winger, who has signed a new deal until 2021, said: “It has been a great year. The manager called us in for a team meeting to tell us he has been delighted with the success we’ve had this year and how we are going just now.
“That doesn’t happen often! It was a bit weird actually.
“It’s always a bit of a worry when you get that shout: ‘The gaffer has called a meeting in 10 minutes.’ The players were thinking, ‘Uh-oh.’
“But that just makes the pats on the back more special.
“You don’t want to let him down and it’s even better when you get some kind words. He has been brand new with us.
“We’ve had our spats and sometimes he can go overboard but that’s just the type of man he is. There’s no one in our dressing room who’s going to tell him to calm down!
“He has been great with me and the other boys – he has taken this club to new heights.
“He’s a winner and wants to take the club even higher.
“He’ll never let us take our foot of the gas, he’ll be demanding more after the break.”
Lennon was furious with the officials in midweek when they failed to spot that Oli Shaw’s shot had crossed the line in the derby draw at Tynecastle. And he insists the young striker has now been denied two memorable strikes after his last-gasp effort was cleared off the line in the 2-2 draw with Celtic this month.
Lennon said: “Oli might be remembered for the goals he never scored – the one against Hearts and the one that was cleared off the line against Celtic!
“He must have run over a black cat. He’s disappointed but he’s 19 so he’ll shrug it off. I’m with the way he is playing, his movement for the non-goal against Hearts was great.
“He’s a work in progress, we have tried to drip feed him in. Oli has been knocking on the door for a while and he’s producing.
“At development level Oli is a cut above and he is past that stage now. Oli will have a part to play in the second half of the season, how big I don’t know. There is good competition with the three strikers and Oli is right in the mix.”
One man who won’t be competing for a slot up front is Deivydas Matulevicius after Hibs released the Lithuanian.
Reinforcements could arrive next month and Lennon was gutted to miss out on Niall McGinn when the winger agreed to rejoin Aberdeen.
He said: “We were in talks with Niall but heard nothing back.
“We were kept on the hook for a wee while. We’re disappointed but I underpleased stand his choice and we will be looking to try to bring in another attacker if we can.” Lennon reckons Killie boss Steve Clarke pulled off a transfer coup when he persuaded former West Brom midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu to move north. And he knows the shrewd Rugby Park gaffer will make life difficult for Hibs today. Lennon said: “It’s a big test, Steve has got them some great results. That doesn’t surprise me. “I played against him back in the day and he was a class player. He had a great career at Chelsea and has had a good coaching and managerial career. “He has worked at huge clubs and is very well thought of in the game. Steve has turned Kilmarnock’s fortunes around in a big way. “He’s got some good players in. Mulumbu is a stellar signing. He was a good EPL player for a very long time.”
(3pm unless stated) ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Bournemouth v Everton ..................... Chelsea v Stoke .................................. Huddersfield v Burnley ...................... Liverpool v Leicester ......................... Man Utd v Southampton ............ 5.30 Newcastle v Brighton ......................... Watford v Swansea ............................. SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP Barnsley v Reading ............................ Birmingham v Leeds .......................... Brentford v Sheff Wed ........................ Bristol City v Wolves .................. 5.30 Burton Albion v Norwich .................... Hull v Fulham ...................................... Ipswich v Derby .................................. Middlesbrough v Aston Villa .............. Millwall v QPR ................................... P Nottm Forest v Sunderland ............... Sheff Utd v Bolton ..............................
LEAGUE ONE (20) Blackburn v Scunthorpe .................... (21) Blackpool v Plymouth ........................ (22) Bradford v Oxford Utd ........................ (23) Bury v Fleetwood ............................... (24) Gillingham v Wimbledon ..................... (25) MK Dons v Peterborough ................... (26) Oldham v Bristol Rovers .................... (27) Portsmouth v Northampton .............. (28) Southend v Shrewsbury ..................... (29) Walsall v Rotherham ..........................
LEAGUE TWO (30) Cambridge Utd v Crewe ..................... (31) Carlisle v Coventry ............................ (32) Cheltenham v Newport ...................... (33) Chesterfield v Colchester .................. (34) Crawley v Stevenage .......................... (35) Exeter v Barnet .................................. (36) Grimsby v Accrington ........................ (37) Lincoln City v Forest Green ............... (38) Port Vale v Luton .............................. (39) Swindon v Notts County .................... (40) Wycombe v Mansfield ........................
LADBROKES PREMIERSHIP (41) Aberdeen v Hearts ............................. (-) Celtic v Rangers .......................... 12.0 (42) Hibs v Kilmarnock .............................. (43) Motherwell v Hamilton ....................... (44) Partick v Ross County ........................ (45) St Johnstone v Dundee ......................
SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP (46) Brechin v Inverness ........................... (47) Dumbarton v Morton ....................... P (48) Falkirk v Queen of South .................... (49) Livingston v Dunfermline ................. P SCOTTISH LEAGUE ONE Airdrieonians v Alloa .......................... Arbroath v East Fife .......................... Ayr Utd v Forfar ................................. Queen’s Park v Albion Rovers ............ Raith v Stranraer ............................... SCOTTISH LEAGUE TWO Berwick v Stenhousemuir .................. Cowdenbeath v Annan Ath ............... P Edinburgh City v Clyde ....................... Elgin v Stirling Albion ........................ Montrose v Peterhead .......................
TOMORROW Crystal Palace v Man City ........... 12.0 Spurs v West Ham ............................ P West Brom v Arsenal .................. 4.30
LAST NIGHT Scottish Championship – (1) (2) (4) (5) (6) (7) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (-) (19) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (3) (8) (-)
It’s always a bit of a worry when you hear he has called a meeting MARTIN BOYLE
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