Dwight Gayle endorsement convinced Grant Hanley to join Hibernian

Hanley is reunited with his former Newcastle United teammate at Easter Road.

Dwight Gayle endorsement convinced Grant Hanley to join HibernianSNS Group

Scotland defender Grant Hanley revealed how an endorsement from his “miserable” former Newcastle team-mate Dwight Gayle convinced him to join Hibernian.

The 33-year-old made his Hibees debut in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock after joining on a two-year deal last week.

In opting to leave English football for the first time in his career, Hanley sought advice from others, including former Hibernian and Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall and ex-Magpies striker Gayle, who retired this summer at the end of a fruitful campaign at Easter Road.

“I’ve known lads that have played here over the last year or two so I reached out to them when I knew this could be an option and from their point of view, having this opportunity was a no-brainer,” he said.

“I played with Marsh with Scotland for a number of years and I’ve kept in touch with Dwight since we played together at Newcastle. There were others I spoke to as well.

“But it was quite good to get Dwight’s opinion because everybody I spoke to was like, it’s amazing you’ve got to do it, it’s a no-brainer, go for it. Dwight’s actually quite miserable so I thought he’d balance it out.

“But again, he was the same. Amazing. If Dwight says it’s good, then it’s normally good.”

One of the other key factors in moving to Hibs was the chance to play in Europe for the first time in his career. David Gray’s side are currently 2-0 up on Partizan Belgrade after the first leg of their Conference League third qualifying round tie.

“The opportunity to play in Europe was one of the major factors in the decision making,” said Hanley, who has 62 Scotland caps. “It’s another experience, another challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”

Hanley has the chance to play in his homeland for the first time since embarking on a career in which he accumulated almost 450 appearances in England with Blackburn, Newcastle, Norwich and Birmingham.

“Obviously I’m really grateful to have the opportunities that I’ve had and the experience I’ve had in England,” he said.

“Playing in the Premier League, as a boy playing football that’s your dream, that’s where you want to play. So I’ve had the opportunity to play in the Premier League, captain a team in the Premier League. Things that I’ll be forever grateful for.

“It’s been a really good experience playing in England at a good level.”

Hanley feels he will need a few games to get back to his best.

“I’ve always felt when I’ve had a period not playing, it maybe takes three, four or five games to really get up to speed,” he said. “It’s a tricky situation because I’m coming in not having a real pre-season with a club.

“I’ve kept myself going and I’m fit but there’s a difference between being fit and being match fit. Even just silly things like your distances, your angles, your timing and other things like that. That’s something that comes back over time.”

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