In my time at Hibs we’ve had good football sides – and bad sides too! But this team is the best yet
ADECADE on from his first-team debut, Paul Hanlon insists he has never played for a better Hibernian team than the one put together by Neil Lennon.
Hanlon was still a few days short of his 18th birthday when he joined Rob Jones and Chris Hogg in defence for a Scottish Cup tie against Inverness on January 12 2008 and he celebrated a fine start as a Dean Shiels hat-trick gave Mixu Paatelainen’s side the victory.
Hanlon’s highlight in green was to come in the summer of 2016 when, under Alan Stubbs, he was part of the team that ended the club’s 114-year wait to get its hands on the old trophy.
If that team was good, he believes Lennon has taken the club to a new level since succeeding Stubbs later that summer.
In year one, Lennon ground out the results to get the club promoted back to the top flight after a three-year absence and they have flourished in the Premiership, sitting fourth as the league went into its winter recess.
With Efe Ambrose and Steven Whittaker providing experience at the back, John McGinn and a fully fit Dylan McGeouch dovetailing in midfield and wingers Brandon Barker and Martin Boyle on hand to tee up chances for Anthony Stokes and Simon Murray, Hanlon has never been more confident in the strength of the squad.
‘In terms of having a bit of everything, then I think this is the best,’ said Hanlon. ‘In my time we’ve had good football sides — and bad football sides too!
‘But in terms of having the all-round game, this is good. The manager has options throughout the squad. We have players who can play in different positions to different styles. This squad is as strong as I’ve been involved in.
‘We like to play football but in our recent game against Hearts we needed to mix up our game, go a bit more physical and direct — and we showed we can do that side of the game.
‘Before the derby he put up our formation — and then showed us another three alternatives that we could switch to if the game was not going our way.’
Hibs were relegated in 2014 after a mediocre season under Pat Fenlon was turned into a disaster under the old-school management of his replacement Terry Butcher.
An injury to Hanlon didn’t help, the team picking up just one point from the final eight league games of the season after the dependable defender damaged his knee against Partick Thistle.
Stubbs was appointed following demotion and, although he created history, his team was pipped to automatic promotion by Hearts and then Rangers before Lennon came in for last year’s successful bid. The transition to the top flight has been impressive.
‘While we were in the Championship we did a lot of talking about how we measured up against the top league teams,’ said Hanlon candidly.
‘We backed that up with our performances in the Cup but it’s easy to do it from outside the league, it’s tougher when you actually get in there.
‘We have proved that we were right in what we said — taking the recent Aberdeen game out of the equation we have been more than a match for every team in this league.
‘There have been no real games where you could say we were massively under par.’
After that 4-1 defeat at Pittodrie, Lennon described his players’ efforts as ‘abject’ and claimed the team would have struggled against Cowdenbeath on that form.
The manager would later admit he had been harsh on a group who had partaken in high-energy games against Rangers and Celtic over the previous six days, but Hanlon insists he does not mind operating under such an emotional leader.
He added: ‘There are no grey areas with the manager.
‘If you win he is happy but if he feels you have let him down it’s the other way.
‘If things go against us and we are struggling at all, he always has our backs and that carries onto the pitch. The spirit is that we all have each other’s backs. We are a really strong unit.
‘I signed my new deal just before he came in but right away he said: “I will make Paul a better player”.
‘That was a real confidence boost for me. When available he has played me and I have always drawn a lot of confidence from his management.’
Hanlon’s own performances have been of such a high standard that he earned a maiden call-up to the full Scotland squad in November.
Named in caretaker boss Malky Mackay’s squad for the friendly against the Netherlands, the Hibernian defender was surprised to be summoned and indeed a little apprehensive about how he might fit in.
In the end he left disappointed not to be given the chance to join club-mate McGinn on the pitch at Pittodrie.
‘I was a bit surprised by the call up but once I turned up and trained I felt like I was more than a match for the players,’ said Hanlon, who was capped 23 times at Under-21 level. ‘I wanted to impress as much as possible but there’s going to be a new manager in soon. ‘You would imagine the new coach will be named in time for the next squad announcement, so it’s just a case of continuing to play well for Hibs and seeing where it leads. ‘It’s hard to judge until you are involved but I went away and trained and didn’t feel out of place. I felt comfortable among the Scotland players and in the end was disappointed not to get off the bench.’ With club captain David Gray no longer a regular starter, Hanlon has frequently captained Hibs this season and is thriving on the responsibility.
He added: ‘I’m enjoying being back in the top league and playing every week. I had a few injury problems last year and I’ve put them to bed.
‘This is a team full of confidence — when you’re playing with good players it brings out the best in you.
‘This manager wants us to push as high as possible and not rest on what we have done in the past. We have to kick on and hopefully have a strong second half to the season.’
This is a team full of confidence and that brings out the best in you