Hibs 'warrior' receives high praise - and a cheeky put-down - as a welcome back to front line

Me and my shadow - Campbell (left) and Doyle-Hayes struck up a bond during injury rehab. | SNS

So is Jake Doyle-Hayes an Irish warrior or a grumpy wee so-and-so? Never let it be said that we don’t ask the important questions affecting the state of the nation.

As Josh Campbell talks about one of his best friends inside or outside of football, the Hibs midfielder grins frequently and even laughs occasionally, despite feeling fatigued to the point of breaking by new gaffer David Gray’s intensive pre-season training programme. And Campbell’s face lights up when he tries to sum up his pal in a pithy phrase.

The homegrown Hibs hero, who spent a lot of time in the treatment room alongside Doyle-Hayes last season, wasn’t alone in being thrilled to see the Irishman feature in the weekend win over Edinburgh City at Meadowbank. The fact that Doyle-Hayes looked fit and fresh in his first outing since August of last year was encouraging for anyone who has followed the midfielder’s repeated setbacks with an ankle injury.

"Jake is one of my best mates and I'm just delighted for him to be back out running, tackling people, shouting again - moody little bxxxxxx that he is!’ said Campbell, with a guffaw. “It's difficult for him, he's obviously had a really tough injury that keeps coming back. And when people become injured like myself and then come back on the pitch, it's difficult for him. I'm delighted he's back out there and you can see what he adds to the team, the intensity and his quality is just brilliant.

“He’s a warrior. An Irish warrior. I’m just delighted that he’s back and he’ll add real quality to the team.”

To say Doyle-Hayes has endured bad luck of the past year would be something of an understatement. The initial injury was sustained, for starters, in a tackle by Lee Johnson – not the last manager but the guy before him if you’re keeping track. He then always seemed to be “three or four weeks” away, with complications eventually bringing last season to a premature end.

Although he’s missing this week’s trip to Holland due to illness, he is back in pre-season training and looking to make up for lost time, meaning the hours he spent in the gym with Campbell – who broke his ankle in December but was back in April – are just memories. Not all bad, to be fair.

Explaining the chemistry and the competitive edge that kept both players going on the tough days, Campbell admitted: “Yeah, he was a bit down when I came in injured, so it’s nice to have a good mate in there with you. We’re both using the boxing bags and the weights together, so I think it gave him a wee lift to get back on the pitch. 

“We had wee competitions on the watt bike – who could go the furthest, who could run the furthest, sit-ups, who can lift the heaviest weights and all that stuff. Those little things get that bit of a belief back into him to get him back on the pitch. Tell you the results? Nah, I’ll let him do that.”

Cue more laughter from Campbell, a player looking to prove a few points – and claim a new status within the squad – over the course of season 2024-25. With Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson no longer around, Gray is looking for leaders to emerge within the group. And handed Campbell the captain’s armband for the second half on Saturday.

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Admitting he had “no idea” he was in line for such an honour, the academy product said: “I’ve been at the club a long time so to wear the armband is a real privilege. I found out back at Easter Road when we were having a meal. The gaffer put the teams up and just said: ‘You’ll wear the armband today and lead the boys. I believe in you - and you need to step up now.’

“I’m 24 so I’m not a kid anymore, I need to speak up more. I’m just going to relish the privilege. I’ll always feel like I’m a kid around some of these guys. The senior boys who moved on from last year, I felt I was a kid with. Now I need to step up and be a real character in the team. If I’m given the armband, I’ll take it at every opportunity. 

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“You need people to fill those spaces when those big characters (Hanlon and Stevenson) leave the changing room. I’ve been there the whole way with both of them – from watching on the sidelines to training and playing with them. Now, I need to step up.

“The most important lesson I learned from them? Leadership. The two of them are big, big leaders. You don’t see it every day, but they lead by example. They were the first in the gym, last off the pitch, taking everyone out, getting everyone doing things together.”

One thing is in no doubt. Gray will get absolutely everything that Campbell has to give. And not just because the natural No. 10 is a good pro.

“I'm a massive fan of the gaffer,” he said, adding: “We've got a good relationship. He's always been someone to stick his neck out on the line for me. When I was a young boy coming through, he was always the one going to the managers trying to get me a wee game or a couple of minutes. And he always said that to me. It's vice-versa, we've always believed in each other.

"I was on holiday when I heard he’d got the job. I might have had a cocktail in my hand when I found out! It made my holiday a lot better.

"He knows exactly how the club is run, in and out, and there's no better manager to take the club forward now than him. He has learned from a lot of different managers. We've had lots of different people come in the building who've wanted to play different philosophies and he's learned from everyone. And he knows how the club is run.

“Pre-season has already been expectedly tough. I had a heads-up what was coming, and I've told a few boys. Some of them were still shocked.”