Lewis Can Handle Cups And Downs

Feb 10 2008 By Euan Mclean

LEWIS STEVENSON always braced himself for the inevitable dip that would follow his dream breakthrough into Hibs' first team.

After all when your debut ends with lifting the CIS Cup and being voted man of the match things can only go downhill.

And so it has proved in a testing second season that saw the 20-year-old fall out of John Collins' first team for a spell then find his hopes of making a quick impression on new boss Mixu Paatelainen scuppered by a hamstring injury.

The future is looking brighter though and Stevenson's recent troubles have taught him valuable lessons as well as convincing him to change his style of play if needed.

The midfielder said: "It probably all came a bit too quickly at the start but I realised it wasn't always going to be so rosy. Everyone goes through a bad period and I've certainly had an up and down season - but I'm due a good spell soon.

"I have not featured much because I was injured when the gaffer came in which was bad timing. But I think folk around me worry more than I do.

"People have been saying, 'Are you not having a word with the gaffer because you're not playing?' but I'm not the kind of guy who would knock on the manager's door and ask what's happening.

"He has the final decision so if you want in his team you have to do what he wants. I'm happy to do that even if it means sacrificing my natural game a bit.

"The gaffer wants the team to bemore direct than we used to be. At times we'd maybe over pass when Collins was in charge but Mixu wants us to get up the park quicker.

"I used to think we were having a bad week when results weren't great but when it keeps happening there's maybe something wrong.

"When the pitches are heavy it's risky to pass the ball about too much at the back so it will work to be more direct andwe must adapt becausewe have fallen away over the winter.

"Signing big Colin Nish to play up front reflects that - he's quality with a good touch but sometimes it's better to hit a long ball."

A morale-boosting midweek trip with Billy Stark's first Scotland Under-21 squad - when he performed well in a 2-1 defeat by Portugal - has given Stevenson renewed belief he can feature in Wednesday's home game against Gretna.

Ironically the Borderers were the last side Hibs beat at Easter Road in the SPL back in early December and that tells the story of the inconsistent spell that wrecked their storming start to the season when they threatened to split the Old Firm.

Yet Hibs fans should not be surprised. The loss of top talent like Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Derek Riordan and Steven Whittaker has stripped the club of their best assets with little re-investment in the squad.

It's a situation that frustrates Hibees players and Stevenson warned it will always be difficult to compete if the fire sale doesn't stop soon - because they're running out of young talent to replace them.

He said: "Nish and John Rankin from Inverness are the first players we've bought in a long time. We'll probably keep selling until we are successful but maybe we need to keep players longer to achieve that.

"Guillaume Beuzelin reminded me that of the Hibs team who finished third a few seasons back there is almost no one left.

"It's hard to keep building a squad if you're always getting rid of players.

"The young guys have a long way to go until they are as good as Riordan, Brown or Thommo."