Mallan claims he’ll thrive trying to replace his old Buddie
BY CRAIG SWAN IN DUBAI STEVIE MALLAN reckons old pal John McGinn did him no favours by piling the pressure on to him at Hibs.
But the Easter Road ace is adamant he can emulate the Scotland star’s success and use it as his motivation and inspiration to make the fans forget about their former hero.
Mallan is among the new breed of Hibees trying to plug the gaps left by the summer departures of McGinn, Dylan McGeouch and Scott Allan.
It’s not been easy for the recruits. Such was the success of last year’s team, expectation of a demanding support is at times crushing.
Mallan though wants it. He wants the stress. He wants the responsibility and believes his old St Mirren mate’s success drives him on.
He said: “John had probably put pressure on those who followed him which shows the player he is.
“He moved from St Mirren to Hibs and became a totally different player. I saw that and it made me want to come as well because of how much he kicked on.
“Now he’s got his move to Aston Villa. My thinking was that if he could do it then so could I.
“When I was down south at Barnsley there was always talk about me going to Hibs so I kept my eye on them, plus I’m a good friend of John so I wanted to know how he was getting on.
“They were great to watch, especially with Dylan, Scott and John linking up so well together.
“When the three of them left, people like me who came in wanted to get to their level or maybe even do better.
“I thrive off the pressure. I don’t want to be as I was last season when I wasn’t feeling the pressure to perform because I wasn’t really playing. I’m now at a club where the manager loves me, my team-mates and I have gelled, I’m playing every week. This what I want.”
Mallan’s initial impact at Easter Road made the fans forget about McGinn.
He scored some spectacular goals – magical free-kicks and long-range efforts quickly took his tally to nine – and he believes that’s down to the hard work he put in day in, day out through his formative years.
He said: “You’ve got to work hard. At every club I’ve been at, the boys ask me how I got my technique when it comes to