Lenny insists Hibees can end his wait for League Cup glory
extension. And while he won’t make an early commitment the stopper insists he has never been more content.
O’Connor insisted: “The manager knows this is the happiest I’ve been in football. I go home from training every day with a smile on my face.
“I’m honoured to be at such a big club but there’s practically a whole season for us to reach a decision.
“Playing in front of 15,000 people at home makes you want to be here for many more years to come.”
Meanwhile, the Cork-born stopper is desperate for League Cup silverware to atone for last year’s nightmare.
He said: “I thought about that game for weeks. It was in my head. “I didn’t leave my bed for days. “But that has spurred me on to try and reach the final again this season.” Neil Lennon is irked by the one domestic trophy that has eluded him as a manager in Scotland. And he’s determined to finally land League Cup success with Hibs this season. That’s why the manager has put his Hibees on red alert ahead of their quarter-final clash with Livingston as he sees Tuesday’s clash as a real banana skin. Lennon lost two League Cup Finals when he was in charge at Celtic. The defeats to Rangers in 2011 and Kilmarnock in 2012 still rankle and he said: “It has not been a good tournament for me as a manager. “I lost a couple of finals and the Ki lmarnock one was especially disappointing because Celtic were the dominant team and missed lots of chances on the day.
“So it’s the only competition I haven’t won as a manager.”
It’s a contrast from his silver success as a player.
He won the League Cup twice as a Hoops midfielder in 2001 and 2006 and also picked up a couple of League Cup medals with Leicester in England.
The Hibs boss said: “It was my first competition to win as a player and first as a captain.
“I won two in England which was pretty special for a club like Leicester at the time.
“Look, Hibs are not going to win the league – let’s be realistic – but we have an opportunity to do well in the cups.
“We should be saying, ‘ Right, let’s give this a go.’ Even as we were work ing towards ga ining promotion last season we got to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
“We could have done better that day. The players have had a taste of it. They were in two finals the season previously so their cup pedigree is good.
“They know how to play these one-off games pretty well.
“This one comes early. We had a good run in the group stage and played well against Ayr in the previous round too.
“We will be looking for more of the same in the quarter-final.”
Lennon insists he won’t treat the competition lightly and will f ield h i s s t ron ge s t s i d e a ga inst Dav id Hopk in’s Championship outfit.
The Hibs boss knows only too well the pitfalls in drawing a team from a lower division after Morton dumped his Celtic side out at Parkhead in 2013.
He said: “We’re at home and we’re up against lower- league opposition. But that can bring its own dangers.
“Hopkin has done very well and Livi are doing okay in the Championship which is not an easy thing to do.
“This is a game fraught with danger. I want to put a strong team out and it’s a game that is very much at the forefront of my mind.
“Hopefully we can overcome it and really have something to get our teeth into.
“The incentive is there for us to make another semi-final. It’s a compe t i t ion that ’ s wor th competing in and trying to win.”