The midfielder, recently arrived from Carlisle United, spoke positively and confidently about his decision to further his career in Scotland and about Hibs' prospects this season under Pat Fenlon.
Taiwo is still just 22 years old but his cv already includes spells with the youth academies of Leeds United and Chelsea – Leeds eventually received £5m in compensation when he and Michael Woods left for Stamford Bridge – and almost 150 competitive matches for Carlisle. There was some acrimony over his departure from the League One club – manager Greg Abbott claimed the player would be disappointed in moving to a Scottish club – but Taiwo rebuffed such a suggestion.
"There would be no reason for me to be disappointed about being here when I've been given such an opportunity," he said. "In the interview [with Abbott] the full facts have not been disclosed and people have only heard what he has to say. It's not my place to criticise other people. I'm just going to focus on getting fit and getting into the team."
Taiwo has high hopes for Hibs having watched Fenlon's side defeat Kilmarnock last weekend to move up to second in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. On the back of a disastrous campaign when they flirted with relegation and were thrashed in the Scottish Cup final, there is little expectation that Hibs will perform much better this time around. Taiwo, though, says there is no reason why winning the championship shouldn't be a realistic target.
"From watching the boys last Saturday, grinding out that result against a tough Kilmarnock team, I don't see why finishing first or second isn't a possibility," he added. "I can see us pushing Celtic all the way. They're dropping points and Hibs are picking them up, so if it carries on in that vein then we've got a great chance. There's a good feeling about the place and it's not just because there's only Celtic in the league and not Rangers too. There's an intensity in training, every day is high tempo, and there's a massive will to win."
Taiwo revealed what he hoped to bring to Fenlon's side if selected to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
"My performance is high energy and high tempo. That's what you'll get from me: hard work and an ethic that the team have already got.
"My reputation speaks for itself. I've played a lot of football, 150 league games. I've added consistency to my game and, hopefully, people will judge me on that rather than something that happened five or six years ago [the Chelsea transfer].
"When I signed for Carlisle it was a big opportunity for me, same as when I signed for Chelsea. I've got to grab this opportunity, playing in front of 10,000 fans every other week at Easter Road is a big thing. The crowds weren't fantastic at Carlisle, so it's a new pressure."
Taiwo has been impressed with the facilities at the club. "I came to have a look at the training ground and the stadium before I signed and immediately I thought that Championship clubs, and even some Premier League clubs, would be envious of what we've got here.
"I spoke to some of the boys at Carlisle like Rory Loy who was at Rangers, and JP McGovern, who was at Celtic. They both spoke very highly of Hibs."
Josh Meekings, the Inverness defender, was forced to deny Taiwo and Hibs will face the dirtiest team in the league after the Highlanders racked up their third red card in six games. Inverness also have the most yellow cards in the SPL. However, Meekings insists these statistics do not tell the full story.
"People can say what they want outside the club, we know we are not a dirty team," he said.
"We just play the game. We don't want to let anyone get on top of us and unfortunately there has been a few occasions when maybe luck hasn't gone our way, or it looks a bad challenge when perhaps it's not – it's just a bit of a late challenge.
"We have just got to ignore that talk from the outside and keep working as hard as we are."
Meekings will continue at centre-back at Easter Road after regaining his place in the team in recent weeks. The Englishman has a chance to stake a regular place with fellow defender Simon King ruled out for eight weeks with a chipped bone in his ankle. Owain Tudor-Jones begins a three-game suspension after his second red card of the season.
"I came on as a sub in the first few games," Meekings added. "Now I'm in the team at centre-back and I'm very happy. I just want to get a clean sheet and a win, like all the lads, and really kick on and make something of the season."
