David Gray might be feeling the heat after just 13 games as Hibs boss but Martin Boyle is certain the Easter Road legend will be successful given time. The 36-year-old is preparing for his first Edinburgh derby as manager and knows defeat on his own patch on Sunday will leave Hibs cut adrift at the bottom and the pressure ramp right up on his own position.
Boyle was a team mate of the 2016 Scottish Cup Final hero and is now a senior part of his dressing room leadership group. And he has demanded his team mates give more for the manager – and for the shirt.
He said: “I have no doubt in my mind that the gaffer will be successful here. It’s a results business, it can be ruthless. But I have no doubt, we have the belief in him that we can turn this around. We have a group of players that will do it. Hopefully we can do that on Sunday. Not only for us, the fans, but for him because he deserves it.”
In nine years at Easter Road, Boyle has played under eight bosses – with Gray filling in as caretaker on four occasions before being handed the reins permanently in the summer. And the Australia international is desperate to make sure his stay in the hot seat isn’t as short as his predecessors.
He said: “It’s never nice seeing anyone lose a job. I’ve been there a few times. I’d run through a brick wall for the manager, he knows that. He can lean on me and I can lean on him. The trust he’s put in us, but we need to start giving more.
“That should be a 100 per cent given when you put on this shirt, you have to give everything for this football club. We need to start doing that. There’s a lot more experienced players than me in there. But I think being around the environment a long time and seeing it all being here.
“Just that trust. He knows the kind of person I am. I’m a charismatic person but as soon as I cross that line, it’s a flick of the switch and I’m at it. I keep saying I’m not the most vocal guy, but I demand standards on the pitch. I try to drive it with my own performances.”
Boyle reckons tomorrow’s derby is the biggest in years between the sides who are locked at the foot of the table on five points. It’s not the first time the 31-year-old has been in a struggling Hibs side. But he knows how a win over Hearts can switch the mood quicker than any other victory.
He said: “I’ve been in this movie a fair few times and it’s never nice. I am certainly confident, and there’s a group of people in there that are confident that we can turn this around, first and foremost.
“We’ve put in hard work. Hopefully we can get a positive result and get the fans back on side. Show them how much this club means to us. There’s no better game than the Edinburgh Derby. It’s a massive one, probably the biggest one in years. It should be tasty.
“Football is mad. Especially in this league, it can turn on its head quick. If you can get a little run together you can be straight back up that table. Ideally that’s what we want to be.”