It was my duty to get Hibs up after 2014 hell
SAYS LEWIS STEVENSON
THE hardy souls who kept the faith, who toughed it out and stayed the course, have been waiting for this moment. Hamilton Academical at Easter Road. Sure, it’s an occasion likely to inspire some pretty horrific flashbacks among Hibs fans.
But it also offers a chance for the few, the lucky few, to bookend a story of regret and redemption.
To bury the memories of a tumultuous afternoon in May 2014. The day Accies relegated Hibs in front of a stunned, mutinous, furious home crowd.
Lewis Stevenson, the only firstteam regular still standing from one of the most spectacular collapses Easter Road has ever witnessed, winces when reminded this is a first meeting of the teams since that SPFL play-off loss.
For the long-serving all-rounder, the first Hibs player ever to win both the League Cup and Scottish Cup with the club, being here to play a part represents victory.
‘It was coming out in the papers that everyone was getting released, so it goes through your mind,’ admitted Stevenson, recalling the uncertainty which followed the drop into the Championship.
‘Thankfully, I managed to stick around a bit longer.
‘After being relegated, there was a part of me that, if I hadn’t helped to get the club back, then I hadn’t done my job.
‘I’m glad I did that. But it’s only half a job done. We want to establish Hibs back challenging at the top end of the table.
‘That was a horrible day (against Accies) and one we all want to forget. This seems like a much more positive place to be now.
‘It’s different circumstances this time, and a lot has changed for both clubs.
‘It feels like a totally different club. Everyone is pulling in the right direction, the fans are with us — and long may that continue.’
That enthusiasm among the Hibs support, a by-product of both their team’s jinx-busting 2016 Scottish Cup triumph and last season’s long-awaited promotion, is in stark contrast to the prevailing mood in the early summer of 2014.
Fans, already frustrated and infuriated, were driven to open rebellion by the end.
The final straw — seeing their team blow a 2-0 first-leg lead before eventually succumbing on penalties to Accies — prompted massed demonstrations that could not be ignored.
Even popular club servant Stevenson found himself getting the sharp end from punters.
‘It wasn’t so much during games, it was when you were out doing your shopping,’ revealed the 29-year-old.
‘It wouldn’t be what they said, it would be the look someone would give you.
‘I can take it from opposing fans — that is almost a boost. But, when you get it from your own fans, it hurts. It’s the worst feeling you can get, when your own fans are disappointed in you.
‘But that’s made me stronger, more resilient — and I’m sure the same people that thought negatively back then, hopefully, I’ve turned a few around.
‘You can see by the seasonticket sales how positive the feeling is. They are the best they’ve been in the time I’ve been here, even when we were finishing third and fourth.
‘It is a great place to play right now and, although some people might say it doesn’t make a difference, it’s much easier to play in front of fans who are willing you to win and have that positivity.
‘Our form at Easter Road has been a lot better and that’s a big part of it.’
When the sun is shining on Leith and Hibs are winning, as they have been at the start of this season, it’s possible for some — not a majority, but a significant minority — to agree that, all things being equal, relegation wasn’t the worst thing ever to befall their club.
Think about it. They’ve been reborn since going down. They ended 114 years of waiting with that Scottish Cup win.
The fans are more engaged, partly because they’ve had two good managers in Alan Stubbs and now Neil Lennon, who have ended a run of disastrous appointments. And the squad looks stronger than ever.
Stevenson remains sceptical, insisting: ‘You never want to get relegated — and things might have changed without it.
‘But we haven’t done anything yet. We want to be challenging in the top six, challenging towards the top end of the table.
‘We’re only two games into the season, so I’ll tell you at the end of the campaign how much things have changed.’
Last weekend’s win at Ibrox was a marker, surely. An ability to put away Hamilton today would be almost as important, if age-old fears about inconsistency are to be allayed.
Stevenson said: ‘You don’t play at Ibrox often and it’s a different atmosphere. You need to cope with that. But you also need to cope with the pressure that will be on us to win against Hamilton at Easter Road.
‘In the past, when we’ve not being doing as well, we’ve been able to raise ourselves against the so-called bigger teams like Rangers, Celtic and Hearts.
‘But you need to keep winning week-in, week-out. You can’t win at Ibrox then lose the next week.
‘A run of ten games, picking up as many points as possible, will be testament to where we are.’
One child will be selected as a mascot for every Hibs home game this season courtesy of the Lewis Stevenson Testimonial Fund. Money donated to Leith Links, one of Lewis’ chosen beneficiaries, provides children from local charities with the chance to attend games. One will be selected each matchday to walk out with the players. Another two mascots will be chosen at random from the Hibs Kids membership. Memberships cost £15.
“We want to be challenging at the top of table”