Hibees setting bar high
Lewis says Leith men won’t limit ambition after climbing to third
Easter Road men ready to push on after taking third
ASK any player outside the Old Firm if the gap outside the big two is a bridge too far in the Premiership title race and they’ll hit the autopilot.
Financial gulfs, a sense of realism and David against Goliath – you’d think the conversation had turned to splitting the atom.
At least Lewis Stevenson offered something more than hopeful cliches after helping Hibs climb to third spot on the table.
A comfortable three-goal win over Motherwell again highlighted why the Edinburgh side should demand something more this season than just best of the rest status and battering their head against a glass ceiling.
The Fir Park victory at least kept the Glasgow giants from vanishing any further over their horizon but Stevenson, 32, insists he’s too old in the tooth to make bold claims of breaking their monopoly and admitted a mental block is also at play with the top-flight’s also-rans.
He said: “You probably get into that mindset where you always aim for third which is maybe a negative thing.
“But you need to be realistic. If we said we’re going to win the league every season then everyone would be disappointed in us.
“We need to set targets but we have to make them realistic. We’ve done well with these blocks and reached every points tally we aimed for. We’ll keep going and see where it takes us.
“There is a massive gulf between the Old Firm and us financially. You need to aim high but I can’t come out and say we’re going to split the Old Firm.
“This squad has the potential to be as good as any team I’ve ever been involved in. I probably say that every year though!
“I’ll tell you at the end of the season because it’s still very early just now. We’ve got some really exciting players and young prospects. Jamie Gullan did really well and he’s been brilliant. He’s going to be a massive plus for us.”
Hibs boss Jack Ross was required to fire a few rockets after a first half that was even-stevens and could’ve had the hosts ahead had referee Andrew Dallas not ruled out Bevis Mugabi’s effort having seen a push by Mark O’Hara in the build-up.
Those home truths did the trick as the Leith side rattled in three goals to illustrate their dominance and superiority all over the pitch after the interval. Martin Boyle fired in the first courtesy of a low shot that beat Jordan Archer via a post and that was followed by late strikes from subs Christian Doidge and Stephen McGinn. Stevenson believes it was a slowburner of a performance that soon became one of their best of the campaign so far. And he’s mystified as to why it required an intervention from their manager at the interval. He said: “It was two different teams in two different halves. If two halves could be any more different then that was it. The manager came in and gave us a great team talk.
“It’s mad sometimes that grown men need that at half-time to see what they have been doing wrong. We got a kick up the backside basically to change things.
“It was night and day from the first half. I don’t think anyone got pass marks in the first half but everyone did in the second half.
“It was a great talk from the gaffer and that second half was probably the
best we’ve played for a while. Everyone realised we were just waiting for something different to happen in the second half.
“It was strange. So many games have drifted past for us like that, it’s hard to put your finger on how it happens. Sometimes you need that at half- time. The second half was so much better. If we had done that in the first half the game would have been so much easier.”
There’s a sound defensive base about Hibs but it’s in the final third where they possess potent attacking weapons with Boyle, Doidge, Jamie Murphy and Kevin Nisbet all more than capable in the finishing department. The ammunition was being provided by the outstanding Joe Newell who orchestrated events from deep and increasingly looks one of the Premiership’s most intelligent performers.
It was also just one of those days for Motherwell. Following a week where they were controversially handed two 3-0 wins from the SPFL after Covid-19 breaches by St Mirren and Kilmarnock, the football gods may have decided to inflict a 3-0 defeat to redress the balance.
The six points propelled Robinson’s side into the top six without kicking a ball and Stevenson admits it made this win all the more important as they extended the distance between their hosts and ended a run of backto-back draws on league duty.
He said: “We went through a sticky patch but that was a massive result for us today especially with Motherwell getting those points during the week.
“If they had won they would have been very close to us but now there’s a gap. If we can beat the teams around us, then it helps.
“We set targets every six games and if we keep focusing on those short targets it will stand us in good stead.”