Jake’s back to boost Hibees for next term
Nick Montgomery is planning to give Jake Doyle-Hayes his first Hibernian appearance in almost nine months over the course of the next week.
The 25-year-old Irishman has not played since the Europa Conference League defeat at home to Aston Villa in August.
Doyle-Hayes has suffered a string of setbacks since sustaining an ankle injury in a training-ground challenge with former manager Lee Johnson more than a year ago.
However, the former St Mirren midfielder is ready to return to action as Hibs conclude their campaign with matches at home to Aberdeen today and Motherwell on Wednesday and then away to Livingston next weekend.
“JDH is back in training so I’m really hopeful we can maybe give him some minutes between now and the end of the season because it’s been a real frustrating season for him,” said manager Montgomery, who has not had the chance to utilise Doyle-Hayes since his appointment last September.
“We know how good a player he is. To see Jake back would be a real positive for him and for the club moving into next season.”
Today’s Easter Road fixture pits two teams widely deemed to have underachieved after failing to make the top six of the cinch Premiership.
“Aberdeen have got a very good squad, I don’t think anyone can doubt that, but they’ve had a difficult season,” said Montgomery.
“They played European football, like we did. Nobody’s entitled to finish in the top six.
“We’ve had challenges as a club and I’m sure they’ve had challenges as well. We expect a tough game.
“They’re in a similar position to us and they’ll want to finish the next three games strongly.”
The end of the season can be a testing time – and not just for those who have it all going on the line.
Reaching the end of a campaign often turns leading participants sentimental and the last couple of weeks have seen a deluge of feelgood tales flooding the media.
There was Rotherham goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, who paid for 600 pints of beer at a local pub so fans could toast his departure from the club.
Each drink came with a card and message written by Viktor. The former Aston Villa player also donated a signed shirt to be raffled with proceeds to go to a local hospice.
Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon did not make any such promises after announcing their joint departures from Hibs in the summer.
Why would they?
Having made over 1,100 appearances between them and given outstanding service to the Leith club, they are surely not the ones who should be standing their hands at the bar.
When they say their goodbyes to the fans at Easter Road on Wednesday night, after the visit of Motherwell, it is sure to be a moving moment.
Which was pretty much the case when Newcastle colossus Dan Burn who, after scoring against Spurs, performed a special celebration for deaf fans he had met before the game using British Sign Language.
Likewise, when the young Ipswich fan asked his grandfather where the promotion to the Premier ranked in his lifetime supporting the Tractors Boys, to be told it surpassed the title, FA Cup and UEFA Cup because this one they watched together.
Similarly affecting were the photos of Jude Bellingham at the Bernabeu with his mother, the pair delighting in Real Madrid’s La Liga triumph together.
The celebrations had only just begun, too, with Joselu – an underwhelming talent at Stoke and Newcastle – becoming an unlikely Champions League hero with two late goals to clinch victory over Bayern Munich.
In the process setting up a “Bellingham Final” against Jude’s old club, Borussia Dortmund at Wembley at the beginning of next month.
The fact UEFA’s set-piece will take place in the 20-year-old’s homeland merely adds to the suspicion he has a Hollywood scriptwriter laying out his career for him.
It might not even end there either as England are the bookmakers’ favourites to win the Euros this summer.
As much as their status reflects the weight of the money bet in the UK, it also acknowledges the chance Gareth Southgate’s side, runners-up last time, have of going one better.
If Bellingham could help his international skipper, Harry Kane, put an end to his long trophyless run it would be quite a tale. Kane, whose Bayern side he had played a part in beating in the Champions League semi-final.
Experience suggests that exposure to the deluge of emotional moments can have one of two effects.
Either it desensitises you to the point where the stories wash over you. Or, conversely, you start to see touching moments in every story you hear about.
It is when you catch yourself saying, “Aww” at the sight of the Grim Reaper taking in the action between Stranraer and Stenhousemuir last week, that you realise which camp you have fallen into.
Now part of that was admiration for the sheer effort made by whoever had made themselves Death for a day.
You were not talking about somebody just bunging a comedy wig on their head, here all your Reaper essentials were present and correct.
Scream face mask, check. Black cloak, check. Giant scythe, check.
The fact he stood alone on the terraces was possibly not by design – yes, it would be a good story to tell afterwards but would you really want to tempt fate? – but it did certainly add to the grimness of the spectacle.
However, the main reason for feeling a pang was what the costume signified, the peril faced by Stranraer FC.
Founded in 1870, the Blues are one of the world’s oldest clubs. Their longevity will not shield them from harsh financial realities, though, should they lose the pyramid play-off against East Kilbride and drop out of the SPFL.
And as much as the opportunity for new blood afforded by the pyramid system is to be applauded, that would be an unwelcome consequence of what has been a thrilling and dramatic 2023-24 campaign.