IT’S SUN-SIGN ON LEITH FOR HANLON AS HIBEE SEALS EASTER ROAD STAY WITH BUMPER NEW DEAL
PAUL HANLON says he’s proud to be a Hibee for life after celebrating a decade in the Easter Road first team by signing a new four-year deal.
The stalwart has seen his beloved club’s growth from the crushing low of relegation from the top flight to the historic high of ending their 114-year Scottish Cup hoodoo.
But the 28-year-old firmly BY EUAN McLEAN believes there are even greater achievements ahead as Neil Lennon’s side chase a stunning second-place finish in their first season back in the Premiership.
So he had no hesitation in penning an extension that ties him to the club until 2022 – and he’s happy to be remembered as a one-club man like team-mate Lewis Stevenson who also came through the ranks.
Hanlon said: “I grew up a fan of the club and I have enjoyed every minute of playing for Hibs. I’m proud to wear the strip.
“Signing a four-year contract will take me to 32-and-a-half so I don’t know if I’ll have much left after that.
“I try not to look too far ahead but if it came to it and I played my whole career at Hibs, it’s something I’d be really proud of.
“There have been a few times I thought I might go elsewhere. When we got relegated, for some reason we all got told we were free to go but that wasn’t the case in the end. I wasn’t free to go. So that was fine.
“There’s occasions where I have spoken to other people when I was out of contract but for me to leave here, it would have to be something that I thought was special – and nothing that came up was enough to make me want to go.
“So I’m absolutely delighted with the new contract and I got it signed as quick as I could because this is one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve had.
“There is a feelgood factor around the whole club now. It
is a great place to be with a great squad that hopefully will stay together for next year as well.
“We have a great manager and backroom staff. It all seems to be going in the right direction.”
Hanlon has come a long way from the kid who signed his first professional forms with Hibs.
He said: “I came in from school at 16 years old. There was no training ground at that time so I was into Easter Road every morning, doing all the jobs.
“I was cleaning boots, pumping up the balls, filling up the water for the first team, that sort of stuff. Then it was off to whatever public park they had available. I look back on those days fondly, I enjoyed those sort of jobs.
“In my group were Sean Welsh, who was at Partick Thistle, and David Wotherspoon. Callum Booth was a year younger and they’ve all had decent careers.
“They were good days but looking back at it now – when you see where the club is with this amazing training facility and the stadium finished with the new stand – it has come so far. It’s a great place to be.”
Celtic roll into Leith today seeking just one more win to secure their seventh successive title triumph but Hanlon has never hosted a title party yet and is in no mood to do so today.
He said: “You don’t want to see the other team celebrating on your patch. We need the points just as much as Celtic do.
“We have put ourselves in a great position going into the last five games. There is nothing to fear, we have proven we can win big games.”