FATHER & SUNSHINE ON LEITH
EDINBURGH DERBY FALLOUT New dad Hanlon savours a week to remember
The birth of his son Ollie. The announcement of a testimonial after 10 years of dedication to Hibs.
Paul Hanlon probably didn’t think his week could put a bigger smile on his face.
But as the defender bathed in the echoes of a glory-filled post-derby Sunshine on Leith, he admitted neither he nor his club have had it better in his decade there.
The 28-year-old was a rock in Hibees’ 2-0 tanking of rivals Hearts under the Friday night lights.
And as he reflected on a run which saw them move within a point of the top three, he reckons they’re finally walking the walk after talking the talk.
He said: “It has been a great couple of weeks. I had a baby boy, Ollie, the week before, then the testimonial being announced and now winning the derby.
“I would say this is the best it has been in all my time here.
“Obviously winning the Cup, that was amazing, but in terms of the club and the way we are just now with sell-out crowds, where we are in the league, it’s definitely the best it has been since I’ve been here.
“We did a lot of talking while we were in the Championship, saying that we are a big club, and the pressure was on us to come back up and prove it. I think we have handled it brilliantly this year and hopefully we can finish strongly.”
With Hearts branded an irrelevance by boss Neil Lennon, Hanlon agrees that the only way the Easter Road side should be looking is up.
Asked if he felt they could catch both Aberdeen and Rangers, he insisted: “I think so. We are 12 points ahead of Hearts now, with a game in hand, so we have to be looking ahead and seeing if we can close the gap on the teams above us.
“Rangers are a massive club and Aberdeen have been there a number of seasons now so they are the benchmark.” Another benchmark for him on an individual level would be a return to the Scotland squad, with John McGinn a cert and Dylan McGeouch also on the radar. But Hanlon is keeping his hopes firmly in check. Drafted in by Malky Mackay for the Holland game in November, the centre-half – with 23 caps for the Under-21s – remained an unused sub. Now with new boss Alex McLeish set to announce his squad tomorrow, Hanlon said: “It is at the back of my mind. “I was in the last squad for Holland but it’s a different manager now and it’s just a case of playing well when I can and hopefully catching the eye of the manager. I think he was at the derby game on Friday and if I am selected then I will be delighted.
“We have a number who could potentially step up. Our league position shows we are a match for anyone in the Premiership when we are playing well.”
They were certainly the more ambitious side against Hearts, eventually coming good after a first-half war of attrition.
Hanlon admitted: “It was one of those games where we just needed to get the goal. Once we did we took charge.
“We showed we have a bit of everything in the squad – we try to be a good football team but if we need to mix it, play it longer, win our battles, then we can do that.
“It is a great team to be involved with and we are full of confidence just now. On the back of big results, our confidence couldn’t be any higher.”