JACKSON IRVINE doesn’t want to make too much of his hardship. Just two years after playing for Australia against France, Denmark and Peru in the World Cup, Hibernian’s new midfielder was training alone in a public park, trying to stop passing dogs from pinching the ball from his feet.
Without a club after being released by Hull City last summer, the onset of the pandemic made life uncertain for the 27 year-old, a state of limbo that only came to an end last week when Hibs offered him a short-term contract.
If there were raised eyebrows when he was named in the starting line-up for Saturday’s game against Kilmarnock – when an Alan Power own goal and a thumping effort from Alex Gogic sealed a 2-0 win – it was only because Irvine hadn’t played a competitive match for 10 months.
Tired but grateful afterwards, the former Celtic youth player outlined what the past seven months without a club had been like.
“It was incredibly frustrating,” he admitted. “Now that I am signed and playing again it is something I can reflect on as probably the most challenging time I will ever face in my career, especially not being able to see family and friends during a time when you are out of the game. It just emphasises how much I am hoping to make up for lost time.
“I did a lot of individual training. I had some great support from the national team on the strength and conditioning and sports science side of things. They were giving me programmes and things to do on my own.
“I was just training in parks in Hull, with labradors coming and taking your ball away when you're trying to do a drill.
“Honestly, there were times when I was thinking to myself, "Two years ago I was playing in a World Cup. Now I'm in a public park, on my own, doing running…"
“Football is funny, how things can turn for you. I'm just so grateful to be back at a great club, competing at the top end of the table, looking to win trophies and get into Europe.”
Irvine, though, appreciates that others have gone through a lot worse in the past year so doesn’t want to grumble too much about his own problems. As well as those who have suffered in the pandemic, his girlfriend Jemilla works on the front line as a firefighter.
“It was frustrating and difficult for me but in the grand scheme of things people are facing a lot worse situations than not being able to find a football club,” he added.
“It's not even remotely close to how difficult this time has been for other people. Having a partner in emergency services has helped me keep things in perspective.
“I'm like, yeah, I've had a hard day running in the dog park. She's coming home from doing what she does – and there's no question about the perspective there, it's definitely an eye opener.”
Things, though, are looking up for Irvine. Having done his bit to help Hibs to their first victory since before Christmas, he now has a chance of featuring in Saturday’s Betfred Cup semi-final against St Johnstone.
Having won this tournament with Ross County, he’d love the chance to do so again. And he joked that perhaps beating Hibs in that final in March 2016 helped spur them on to their famous Scottish Cup triumph just two months later.
“To come in during a time when the club is competing for a chance to put themselves in a final and to potentially play a part in that is very exciting. I can't wait.
“It’s kind of a strange one being at Hibs now having played on the Ross County side in that final. Maybe winning that game gave Hibs the spark to go and win the Scottish Cup that season!”
There will be no such cup action for Kilmarnock this weekend, giving them additional time to reflect on a 24-hour period that saw them awarded the chance to play Motherwell in a rearranged game -after an SFA panel overturned the SPFL’s initial decision to award them a 3-0 loss for breaches of coronavirus protocol - and then lose in a scrappy game at Easter Road.
For defender Clevid Dikamona, getting that Motherwell game back on the fixture list was the correct course of action.
“I've been in a lot of countries, I've played for a lot of teams and I can't understand some of the decisions from the SPFL,” he said.
“But we have the chance now to fight for the three points and that's the best decision. That's what's fair. To get the points on the pitch not in front of people who don't even play football.”
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