I DID IT MY WAY
Regrets are too few to mention for Cummings
OF all the inspirational figures in Jason Cummings’ life, you certainly wouldn’t expect Frank Sinatra to be top of the list. There were times at the outset of the season when everyone started spreading the news that the striker would be leaving Easter Road, such was the reported interest from rival clubs.
However, when the 21-year-old’s form dipped and he was dropped by manager Neil Lennon, questions were being asked if his time in Edinburgh was about to end for all the wrong reasons.
Now, after being restored to the starting line-up for the first time since October 15, Cummings insists he’s ready to make a brand new start of it in Leith.
And, if he can make it there, he can make it anywhere, should he return to the sparkling form that grabbed the attention of clubs both sides of the border.
Yes, Cummings looked rusty during Saturday’s win against Dumbarton, but that was to be expected of a striker who hadn’t played regular football in two months.
‘It was a wee bit of a surprise to be dropped,’ he admitted. ‘It’s never really happened to me in my career. But it happens to the top players. I don’t have any complaints.
‘That’s football — riding high in April, shot down in May, isn’t it? It’s Frank Sinatra,’ said Cummings, quoting the lyrics of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ That’s Life.
During his time on the bench, Cummings watched his team-mates rise to the occasion without him.
Despite defeat at Dundee United ten days ago, Hibs still sit top of the Championship after goals from Paul Hanlon and Brian Graham earned them victory over the part-time Sons.
Cummings admits that he had previously taken his starting place for granted and, now he has returned, he doesn’t want to lose it again.
‘I’m delighted to be back,’ he said. ‘I didn’t realise how much I missed playing. Now that I’m back, I want to stay in the team. It’s a good team to be playing in.
‘I have never sulked. It was hard for me because the players who came in took their chances. I couldn’t ask questions.
‘My performances had dipped. When I got dropped, I hadn’t been playing that well, so the manager had the right to try someone else. Unfortunately for me, but not the team, the boys who came in kept me out. But I’m just happy to be back.
‘It has been a weird season, but it’s the team that matters. They have been earning three points without me, so it’s not like I’ve been that bothered.
‘I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt being out. You feel like you are missing out, coming to games every weekend and not playing.
‘You don’t feel a part of it. I took that for granted when I was playing week-in, week-out for the last few years.
‘If anything, it has given me more hunger to stay in the team.
‘The manager didn’t say I was dropped for one particular reason. It’s just a phase.’
When Cummings was sent off in an Under-20s match for dissent last month, it appeared to be yet another setback in his bid to return to first-team action.
‘It was a wee bit of frustration,’ he said. ‘From playing every week and scoring, to playing with the Under-20s on a Tuesday, you do get frustrated.
‘I have good people around me that pick me up and get me going again. I don’t let it bother me that much.
‘I can’t repeat what the manager said to me after that red card. I was fined, put it that way.’
Cummings thought he had bagged a goal on his return on Saturday, only to see his close-range effort ruled out for offside.
The striker, coughing as he reflected on his display, feels he can return to his excellent form of the past.
‘It’s been a massive learning curve for me,’ he said. ‘It has made me hungrier and I know the demands this gaffer expects.
‘It proves with this squad that someone will take your jersey. It’s a fight for places, so you must be at your best every week.
‘I feel like I can’t get a break these days. There were a couple of chances today that would have gone in at the start of the season but aren’t going in just now.
‘My goal was given as offside, eh? But I handballed it — that’s why I thought it was ruled out.
‘I was choked up and wasn’t feeling 100 per cent. I was sent home from training on Thursday. But I’m glad I played.’ HIBERNIAN (3-5-2): Laidlaw 6; McGregor 6, Hanlon 7, Fontaine 6; Gray 6, Bartley 6 (McGeouch 75), Boyle 6, Shinnie 8, L Stevenson 6; Graham 6, Cummings 6. Subs not used: Virtanen, Holt, Forster, Eardley, Crane, S Martin. Booked: Shinnie. DUMBARTON (4-4-2): A Martin 6; J Thomson 5, Buchanan 5, Barr 5, Docherty 6; R Thomson 5, Smith 5, Harvie 5, Stirling 5; Todd 5, Fleming 5 (R Stevenson 75). Subs not used: Brown, Pettigrew, McCallum, Lyden, Crawford. Booked: Harvie, Barr. Referee: John McKendrick. Attendance: 13,881. Man of the match: Andrew Shinnie.