Top line summary

  • Announcement on his future 'in a few weeks'.
  • Crossed his mind that it could be his last Hibs goal
  • Says win shows character after mentality was questioned.

Can you sum up your emotions coming on and scoring - a rare goal!

“To be fair, I’m sure I’ve scored one every season, so at least this season’s ticked off now! Obviously first and foremost, at 1-0 up in a game, you’re coming on as a defender and thinking: ‘Right, make sure we’re solid at the back.’ But any time I go up, I want to get my head on it, foot on it, whatever. It was a long throw-in from Joe, I managed to get a little flick on originally and it fell to me in the box. A nice wee finish with my right foot!"

Could that be your last for Hibs?

“That definitely did cross my mind. The older you get, the more you appreciate those moments. Being a Hibs boy growing up, every goal is special to me. There’s usually a wee while between the goals – but it’s a great feeling."

Have you had any more chats about what's going to happen at the end of the season?

“There’s been a few chats. But it’s one of them that will probably be announced in a few weeks, with the weeks running out now. So probably an announcement will be made in the next few weeks."

How much has the failure to make top six impacted this squad?

“I think everyone felt it. There have always been high expectations at this club, and they’ve probably been raised even more in the past few years. We need to be in the top six. There’s no doubt about that. We didn’t meet our most basic objective for the season, that top-six finish. Everyone realised it. The whole group know that it isn’t acceptable. There were question marks going into this game about our mentality, people asking what our mentality was going to be like when we’ve have that disappointment and there’s not much riding on the games. But I think we showed against St Johnstone that we have character, that we are fighting every week for the club and for the fans. Hopefully we get good results like this between now and the end of the season."

What is there still to be taken from this final run of games?

“I think at Hibs you are always being judged. There’s not five minutes when you’re not being judged by the fans or whoever is watching, because you are playing for a big club. Obviously for the manager and the staff, as well, you are always being judged on your performances. So it’s not a case of just being able to down tools. People will notice and criticise you if you aren’t taking it seriously, if you aren’t giving it 100 per cent. So that’s been the message, that we have to do everything properly, because people will be waiting to shoot you down, and waiting to question you."

Where do Hibs go from here and into next season?

“I think top six is the target first and foremost, then challenging from there. I’m sure that’s the ambition for the club going forward. No-one is hiding away from that. But we probably need to do a bit more acting on it, rather than just saying we want to do it. We need to start doing it. It’s kind of been pretty irregular over the last 20 years or whatever, in terms of finishing in these positions, so it’s about acting on it now, I’d say.”