It’s worth remembering just how young some of the key players in the Hibernian first team squad are this season.
With a sticky run of league results ended by a 2-0 win over Ross County at the weekend, supporters have been vocally frustrated at Easter Road in recent weeks. It has led to players, management and club staff commenting on the impact some of the reactions have had on the pitch.
Two goals from Jake Doyle-Hayes were enough to claim three points for the first time in the league this year, with two cracking strikes from the Irishman giving Shaun Maloney a much-needed home win on a weekend where Hearts, Motherwell and Aberdeen all dropped points.
With an average age of 24 years and three days, Saturday’s starting XI was the youngest in the Premiership and one of the youngest in Europe’s top leagues.
Hibs fans are always striving for a young, quick, exciting team and although some recent performances have not quite been edge-of-your-seat stuff, the youthfulness of the squad is something which should fill supporters with optimism as we head into the business end of the season.
It’s easy to forget how young some of the players in the Hibs squad actually are, given how long they have been around at Easter Road or in Scottish football more generally, but when it’s broken down it is clear to see that some of the guys on the pitch are of an age where they really need our support, not our degradation.
With Paul Hanlon, Paul McGinn and Joe Newell missing through injury, the club have been without some of the more experienced players for a number of weeks which has forced younger members of the squad to step in to key positions.
The injuries to Kyle Magennis and Joe Newell have handed prominent roles to Jake Doyle-Hayes and Josh Campbell in midfield since the turn of the year, with a lot of weight placed on the shoulders of JDH in particular given his previous first team experience with St Mirren.
Fans have been critical of the midfield pair at times this season, with an accusation that when they play together, we are too passive and unwilling to go forward. There have at times been audible grumbles when the ball is played back to the defence rather than forward to an attacking player.
There is a new style of play being implemented and it’s natural for everyone in the squad to take some time to adapt to new ways of thinking and playing.
Jake Doyle-Hayes is only 23 years old. Josh Campbell is just 21.
As fans it’s sometimes too easy for us to forget that the men running around in green and white on a Saturday afternoon are normal people at the end of the day. In a lot of cases those guys with so much hope and expectation on their shoulders are a fraction of the age of the supporters screaming at them from the stands.
As soon as they walk onto the pitch wearing the kit our minds turn to them being Hibs players. Whether it’s Rocky Bushiri or Darren McGregor at the back, rightly or wrongly, players are held to the same high standard in the stands.
It wouldn’t do any harm to take a step back and remember the age of some of the guys being asked to undertake big jobs in the side.
Josh Doig, Rocky Bushiri and Ryan Porteous have become important players for Shaun Maloney since his appointment in December. All three are still young footballers learning their way in the game at a club where they are required to carry the weight of expectation from 10,000+ fans every second week.
Ryan Porteous, who has taken the captain’s armband in recent games and has been around the first team squad for 4.5 season already, is only 22 years old.
A player who is ridiculed by opposition fans and media alike and – in the main – takes it all on the chin while continuing to turn out mature, top-class performances for his boyhood club, Porteous has gone from strength to strength on the pitch in the last 18 months and has quickly become our best defender.
And yet, he is a 22-year-old man – some would do well to remember that.
Rocky Bushiri joined Demetri Mitchell and Ewan Henderson at Easter Road during a January transfer window which was littered with young, promising players arriving at East Mains. There has been a clear shift in signing policy under the Ron Gordon regime and the winter window was an obvious example of this in action.
All three players bring with them a real hunger to do well. Rocky has been through some injury worries in recent years and views Hibs as the perfect place to kickstart his career with regular football.
Demetri Mitchell left the English Championship to return to Scotland where he hopes to force his way into the Jamaican national team while Ewan Henderson leaves Celtic, a club where he’s played his entire career, to join the club he’s supported since he was a young boy.
These guys – and others – will no doubt make mistakes along the way but their commitment to the club can’t be denied and it’s up to the supporters to make sure they feel confident enough to continue trying to impress when they turn out for the club.
On Tuesday night the three new signings took part in a Q&A session for season ticket holders at Easter Road. The evening was a great chance to get to know the players and for fans to ask them questions about their career so far and their thoughts on the club since they arrived.
What struck a chord was of the three players present on the night, young and energetic Demetri Mitchell was the oldest on the panel at just 25 years old. Rocky is 22 and Ewan Henderson only 21.
As football fans we expect players to be committed, confident, self-aware, role models and near-perfect on the pitch. It’s a huge amount of expectation for young men aiming to make their way in the game
While we can all get carried away on a Saturday afternoon, and we can all get annoyed and angry with a misplaced pass or a poor decision, it’s worth remembering next time one of the boys on the pitch does something wrong that there are a hell of a lot of young guys in the squad who are working hard to produce good performances.
They could use our support more than they can use our frustration.
The East Stand 