EURO STAGE IS MY NEW BENCHMARK
Humph happy to go from sub to big-game player
STEPHEN HUMPHRYS reckons he has landed on his feet after going from the bench at Wigan to playing European football.
The striker has joined Hearts on a season-long loan and can’t wait to test himself in the Premiership and in the Europa Conference League group stage.
The 24-year-old faces a baptism of fire at Livingston tomorrow before Hearts host Istanbul Basaksehir in their first group match on Thursday.
And Humphrys said: “It was a bit of a mad one. I got a call quite late the night before deadline day about Hearts. I just digested the information that Hearts wanted me.
“First thing in the morning I called the gaffer, the conversation was about three minutes long, then I went into the manager at Wigan and said, ‘Can I go?’ That was it.
“It shows how quickly things in football change. I was struggling to get game time and now I could get the opportunity to play in Europe.
“Initially it was feelings of frustration, I felt a bit hard done by. I was always trying my best and usually I’d score in closed-doors games and would be doing well. I never really thought the team was going to change and I said to my agent I wanted a loan.
“I didn’t think it was going to come. Wigan rejected the Championship offers then there were a few in League One who were interested. But I chose to come here instead with the European football and how well the lads are doing in the league as well.
“Football is a matter of opinions. I’m here to do my best and prove people wrong and right.
“To play in Europe for any team is massive but to play for such a big team – for me it’s the main team in Edinburgh – I can’t wait to get going.” Hearts will also take on Fiorentina and Latvians RFS and Humphrys is looking forward to the Euro adventure. He added: “On paper Fiorentina are probably the biggest club but then you’ve the prospect of playing against the likes of Mesut Ozil when we play Istanbul. “To travel and play in these fantastic stadiums and experience different fans – I’m sure the Hearts fans will be backing us too – I’m excited by it.” Humphrys, who began his career at Fulham, discussed Hearts with Wigan team-mate and ex-Aberdeen star Graeme Shinnie.
He added: “I spoke to Graeme and he said the rivalry is massive with Hibs.
“Everyone knows the stature of the club. From the reaction on Twitter I got a really good feel for the fanbase as well.”
Humphrys was the Jambos’ only deadline-day arrival despite boss Robbie Neilson being desperate to add more due to long-term injuries.
But the Hearts boss, who had been tracking Humphrys since the player scored against his MK Dons for Shrewsbury in 2017, now plans to see what free agents are on the market.
He said: “We were looking to get a couple more but the ones that were getting offered to us were not at a level that we felt was good enough.
“If the quality isn’t there then there’s no point.
“So I’m quite comfortable just to wait and we’ll see what the market brings now because there are a lot of guys who have cancelled their contract or are out of contract already.”