May 21, 2016. 4.47pm. Hampden Park. It was a JFK moment for thousands of Hibs fans. It was not only the day that 114 years of unmitigated purgatory was mercifully washed away for them and the players, but the day that Hibernian FC finally shook off the tag of nearly men. Bottlers. The phrase “Hibsed It” that opposition fans loved to ram down the Hibees’ throats was buried for eternity under a sea of green and white.

I knew instantly how much winning the Scottish Cup meant to everyone at the club. Every single year all the punters would ask is, “Please, just win the Scottish Cup this year, Tam”. My heart was bursting like every other Hibs fan when David Gray’s goal went in.

I spent eight great years at Hibs and will always love and support the club, but ultimately I never won anything. I wasn’t successful. Given some of the talent I played with in that time, it was a desperate underachievement, one which still eats away at me now.

I was part of the team that was 4-2 up in an Edinburgh derby with three minutes to go and drew 4-4. Part of a team who got to the League Cup final beating Celtic and Rangers along the way, who were stacked with millions of pounds worth of talent. Then in front of 40,000 desperate and expectant Hibs fans lost to Livingston in the final. Genuine Hibsed It material, I’m afraid.

But since that glorious day in May that pessimism and fear among the Hibs support has been replaced by genuine optimism and confidence. A winning mentality has been instilled in the club and that all stems from not only winning the Scottish Cup, but from the appointment of one man. Neil Lennon.

When Alan Stubbs left Hibs to go down south, the pressure on Leeann Dempster and Rod Petrie was monumental. They couldn’t afford another Pat Fenlon or Colin Calderwood. They had to get the right man in. Three seasons in the Championship was crippling for a club of Hibs’ size. I confess

I don’t know Leeann but she has been a breath of fresh air at the club. Her role in the club’s renaissance should not be underestimated.

I actually know Rod pretty well. Contrary to urban myth, I always found Mr Petrie very fair despite the fact he seemed to have me in his office every week taking money off me in fines.

When the name Neil Lennon was starting to get bandied about I thought there was no chance of Hibs getting him in the door. Despite a tough spell at Bolton, when you dig a little deeper they proved to be an absolute basket case off the park. But I am sure he will have learned from that experience. Neil’s record at Celtic as a manager can never be questioned. He took over Tony Mowbray’s mess and in four years he won three league title and three Scottish Cups. With a 70-per-cent overall win rate, he got Celtic into the Champions League last-16 and even took the scalp of the mighty Barcelona. That’s not even taking into account the 13 trophies he won as a player. Quite simply he is a winner. Dempster and Petrie must take a huge amount of credit for luring him to Easter Road. It has proven to be a masterstroke.

He is also not scared to make big decisions and that is the sign of a great manager. Dropping top goalscorer and star striker Jason Cummings last season for a month or two was a risky decision but ultimately the right one. Especially as just a few months earlier the club had knocked back £1m-plus for him. But he was out of form, yet still capable of winning a game in a flash. It was a balancing act. Make no mistake, if Lennon didn’t get Hibs promoted he would have been out a job this summer. It was win or bust for everyone at Easter Road. But dropping Cummings gave him the boot up the backside he needed. He eventually came good to not only fire Hibs to the title but earn his big-money move.

It was an example of great man management. As was the public blast at his players after a turgid display at Raith Rovers which resulted in a huge reaction a few days later in seeing off Hearts comfortably in the Scottish Cup. That got a lot of the punters who were thinking the exact same in Kirkcaldy onside.

With the squad he has now built at Hibs, again credit must go to the board for their financial backing. It is a club that is booming, with over 17,000 turning up for the first home game of the season in which Partick Thistle were comfortably dispatched 3-1. A fantastic result at Ibrox at the weekend will see that momentum snowball. That result has set down the marker. There can be no doubt that outside the big two in Glasgow, Hibs are as big as any other club in the country. Celtic will win the league. But that race for best of the rest is well and truly on. And Hibs will be bang in the mix. Nothing else will be accepted by that man Lennon.