DON’T LET ME GO
Thomson wants to help Hibs stay up - and then land a new deal
KEVIN THOMSON knows today could mark his last game for Hibernian but he can’t understand why boss Terry Butcher would even consider letting him go. Not only does the unshakeably confident midfielder believe he’s worthy of a new deal, he reckons each of his team-mates and all the club’s supporters want him to stay, too.
Ultimately, however, the decision is one man’s to make. If Butcher decides to free Thomson, the 29-year-old will simply start again elsewhere and ultimately target a return to the club as manager himself.
Thomson admits his future is of secondary importance set next to the challenge of completing the task of salvaging the club’s Premiership status.
A 2-0 lead from the first leg of the play-off final against Hamilton should be enough to see the Edinburgh team across the line in this afternoon’s second leg.
Butcher is due to meet with his out-of-contract players tomorrow and Thomson admits he is unsure whether he will be retained.
‘You’d have to ask the manager,’ he shrugged. ‘Being selfish, I’d like to know I’m going to be here for the foreseeable future. But I would rather the club be safe first, we can regroup and I can speak to the manager then.
‘I don’t feel as though I need to prove to anyone that I can play at this level. If you ask all the players, and the 15-16,000 Hibs supporters who’ll be at the game, I think you would get the answer that they would love to have me at the club.
‘I would like to think that if the manager is looking at next season then he’d struggle to sign a better midfielder than me.’
The fact the issue of contracts remains in such doubt at this stage is down to the under-performance of the team since Butcher’s appointment in November. Injured for much of the run that yielded just one victory from the final 19 matches of the season, Thomson was unable to effect any significant improvement when he was eventually recalled.
That the club’s Tranent training centre has not been a happy place of work in that time has been obvious. Stories abound of friction between the squad and the management team of Butcher, Maurice Malpas and Steve Marsella.
Thomson doesn’t deny that there has been some straight-talking. He does take issue with the suggestion that there is any ongoing resentment.
‘The manager is what he is,’ he continued. ‘He is the same as he was as a player, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Whenever a new manager comes in he has new ideas — ultimately he has to pick the team, make the decisions and it’s his head on the block.
‘If you are not playing you are obviously frustrated, but I think the manager has made decisions and been honest about them and, as a player, that’s all you can ever ask for.’ So, would he be happy to continue playing for Butcher next season? ‘Of course I would. I’m hoping that the last four or five games I’ve played will count for something. I’d like to think I’ve not let him down, and that my performance levels have been as good as anyone.’
Last weekend Butcher’s predecessor Pat Fenlon told Sportsmail that Hibs’ problems went far deeper than the issue of who manages the club. Thomson, who had to cancel a coaching course at Largs this week on account of Hibs’
play-off involvement, would
like the job himself one day and admits he’s mystified.
‘Why have we underachieved? I wish I did know, because I would love to manage the team and I hope I have a recipe to make this club successful. That is a boyhood dream,’ he said.
‘I wish I had an answer. I know the club has gone through numerous managers, but we now have a manager who has a proven record — coming from a team second in the league — so hopefully he can turn things around.
‘It’s frustrating. Look, it’s a brilliant club, it has great foundations and it’s very close to my heart. It’s been frustrating for everybody — from top to bottom. Players and manager.
‘This club should be fighting at the top of the league, not the bottom. We need to dig deep. We have been pushed into a corner and we’ve had to come out fighting. I think the boys showed a lot of character on Wednesday night, so let’s hope we can finish the job.’
Jason Cummings’ superbly-taken double has put Hibs in control of their own destiny but Thomson, an unused substitute at New Douglas Park, did not notice a two-goal gulf between the teams in the first leg.
‘I don’t think there was a difference in class,’ continued the three-times-capped midfielder. ‘I thought Hamilton did really well, passed the ball well and they have a lot of talented young boys.
‘They lacked a wee bit of cutting edge in the final third but there wasn’t much between the sides.
‘We can’t be complacent by any stretch of the imagination, and we would never let any of the boys think the job is done.’
Thomson knows he could be on the lookout for a new club after today and believes his pedigree should stand him in good stead. Although no longer as dynamic as he was when he broke into the Hibs side during his first spell at the club, he believes he still has plenty to offer.
‘Everybody — the players, the staff, the punters — know I would love to be here for the foreseeable future,’ added Thomson, who was sold by Hibs to Rangers for £2million in 2007. ‘But if the manager wants to build a team without Kevin Thomson then I will need a new job.
‘Injuries mean I’ve probably lost a bit of pace but, whatever I’ve lost in speed, I have gained upstairs.
‘The way I play the game, I find it quite easy. Physically, I look after myself. Unfortunately I can’t get away from the fact I have had niggles and injuries — but I have played over 300 games and I am only 29 years old.
‘I’ve probably missed three or four years of football with two cruciate ligaments and four broken legs, so I’m proud of the fact I’ve played in so many games. If I’m frustrated at anything it’s that I’ve not played more often for Scotland.
‘If the game is my last appearance for the club, I’ll be sad — but I’m a big boy and I’ve left clubs before. If the manager wants to sit down in the summer, then great. If he doesn’t, I’ll wish the club all the best.’