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Ending barren spell with win at Hamilton was up there with cup glory for Hibs stalwart Stevenson
THE only Hibernian player in history to win both of Scottish football’s major cup competitions, Lewis Stevenson is no stranger to the elation of a big victory. Aged just 19, he was voted man of the match ahead of the likes of Scott Brown and Steven Fletcher as John Collins’ side thumped Kilmarnock 5-1 to land the League Cup in 2007.
Perhaps even more memorably, he climbed the Hampden steps as part of the team that ended a 114-year wait to claim the Scottish Cup under Alan Stubbs nine years later.
Set against those two landmark occasions, a mundane 1-0 win at Hamilton Accies might seem like the most minor of achievements but this one-club man has experienced enough lows in his career to place last weekend’s result into context.
During a seven-game sequence without a victory, Stevenson recognised the hallmarks of downwardly spiralling confidence and loss of morale.
While no one was suggesting Neil Lennon’s side might suffer a similar fate to the team that was relegated under Terry Butcher in 2014, early-season talk of a title challenge evaporated amid a slump to eighth place in the Premiership table.
A simple back-post finish from Oli Shaw was enough to arrest the slide and spread some rare emotion throughout the squad.
‘It’s the best I’ve felt after a game for ages,’ said Stevenson. ‘It almost felt like a cup win. It was something that we didn’t just want — as a team we needed it.
‘It’s not a nice feeling when you’re on a run like that. You feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. You keep looking and thinking: “Where’s this win going to come, how are we going to get it?”.
‘These games maybe get passed over when you look at the calendar, but it was massive for us.’
On one hand, Stevenson’s longevity gives him a strong connection to a fanbase who flocked to his testimonial match against Sunderland last year.
Equally, the 30-year-old often finds he is the first port of call for those supporters who wish to vent when things are going badly. While the left-back can’t do anything about his proximity to the punters on the pitch, he can minimise his exposure to criticism on non-matchdays.
‘I thank God I’ve not got social media,’ he remarked. ‘I try to stay away from that because it makes things 10 times worse.
‘A lot of people ask what’s going on, but only the players on the pitch and the people who work at the club can really make a difference. You can’t really focus on outside influences too much.
‘Off the pitch I’m not very vocal, but on it I think I do my fair share of talking. That’s what you need and I think the manager wanted the more experienced boys to take charge and take a bit of responsibility.
‘We’ve got a close-knit group of people and a few of the boys
have been here a while now. They know how much the club means to everyone. We’re here to take our fair share of criticism, but we have to take responsibility as well.
‘We stuck together. We had a few honest words with each other and I think that’s helped.’ The win at Hamilton was exceedingly well timed given the relentlessly difficult run of fixtures that will take Hibs through to the winter break.
None promises to be tougher than today’s visit of Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic, but subsequent home and away meetings with Rangers sandwich a tricky game against Livingston before the year rounds off with an Edinburgh derby against Hearts.
Lennon will need to improvise to piece together a side from those not occupying a lengthy injury list.
‘We have a lot of big games coming up and training has been very competitive this week,’ he continued. ‘I thought it would be more relaxed, to be honest.
‘At the start of the week, I thought it would be kind of chilled out with smiles on faces but it’s been very competitive — and that shows we don’t want to rest on our laurels.
‘We’re prepared for these games. We know it’s going to be five or six cup finals for us and we want to get ourselves further up the league when it comes to that break.
‘You’ve still got that nervous feeling that Celtic could turn up and put four or five past you.
If Hibs’ schedule is exacting, today’s opponents are in the thick of an even more congested December.
Thursday night’s Europa League exertions against Red Bull Salzburg may prompt Rodgers to rest one or two players this afternoon and Stevenson will offer no protest if James Forrest is one of the men to make way.
An early candidate for Player of the Year, Forrest has scored 16 goals for club and country this season.
‘On paper, he’s probably your hardest player to play against,’ said Stevenson. ‘He’s been brilliant over the last few seasons.
‘He’s got a bit of everything and, for the national team as well, he’s been flying.
‘If I do come up against him, I know I’m going to be in for a tough game. He’s very hard to mark.
‘You maybe need to double up on him or whatever.
‘I don’t want to say I’ve done well against him in the past because that could change!’
You do feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders when you’re on a bad run like that