SECOND COMING
Lenny v Clarke for boss of year, McGinn v Boyd for player and Killie v Hibs for runners-up spot ... it’s a far cry from 2014 clash Samson hails rise and rise of Ayrshire heroes and Leith lions
IT will be four years next month since Hibs and Kilmarnock went into a nerve-shredding final-day clash for a shoot-out to avoid being consigned to a relegation play-off.
They went into the game at Easter Road separated by a single point and Kris Boyd’s goal just before half-time was the difference after 90 minutes.
Hibs went on to lose their play-off final with Hamilton and spent three seasons in the second tier while Killie continued to battle the drop and survived a play-off final themselves against Falkirk to stay up in 2016.
Fast forward to tomorrow’s meeting between the clubs in Leith and the contrast is startling.
Hibs are in a battle for second spot and Kilmarnock are trying to hunt them down with the chance to cut the gap on the Edinburgh side to four points.
The transformation has largely been down to the work of both managers with Neil Lennon enjoying a stunning season back in the top flight after winning promotion last term.
And Steve Clarke has turned Killie into European contenders after being relegation candidates when he took over at Rugby Park in October.
Both will be in the running for Manager of the Year while Kris Boyd’s 21 goals for Killie and John McGinn’s outstanding performances at Hibs sees them on the four-man shortlist for the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award.
Craig Samson was between the sticks for Kilmarnock in that May 2014 meeting and the St Mirren keeper said: “The transformation at both Hibs and Kilmarnock has been fantastic.
“I was at Kilmarnock when we played them in the final game of 2013-14 and if we’d lost we would have been in the relegation play-off.
“I might get stick for saying it because he’s my mate but we had Kris that day and we always felt as if we were going to score with him on the pitch.
“He probably single-handedly kept us in the league that season. He was in some goalscoring run and we knew if we could defensively hold our own we would do well.
“It was a nerve-wracking game but the fans turned out in great numbers to support us. We had a couple of shaky moments where Hibs could have gone ahead but once Kris scored it never felt like we’d lose.
“Hibs had been on a bad run going into that game and we were up and down but with Kris in your side you always had a chance. I don’t think anyone in the ground that day would have believed they would be fourth and fifth in the table four years later.
“There’s been a lot of change at both clubs. I speak to Stephen McGinn, John’s brother, who told us about the positivity around Hibs. I’m friendly with a lot of the Kilmarnock boys and they’ve been on an unbelievable run where they think they can win every game.
“They lost to Aberdeen last week who have been a bit of a bogey team but apart from that have been absolutely brilliant.
“Kris and John are in the running for Player of the Year and I don’t doubt Steve Clarke and Neil Lennon will be touted for Manager of the Year and they deserve that recognition. Kris has come back from people completely writing him off again. John is a Scotland captain in the making, a fantastic footballer – they deserve to be on the shortlist.”
Samson knows all about turnarounds after Jack Ross took the Buddies from escaping relegation last season to winning the Championship this time around.
They’ve done it with Celtic-bound Lewis Morgan in sparkling form and that will see the pair also in the hunt at Sunday’s PFA Scotland awards dinner.
Samson added: “The fact Jack is also being talked about for Manager of the Year shows how well he’s done with the budget he’s had. Lewis has been brilliant for us and deserves to be in the running. We wish him well on his move to Celtic.”