BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
HIBERNIAN trio Anthony Stokes, Danny Swanson and Martin Boyle have been formally disciplined after breaking a curfew during the club’s winter training camp in Portugal.
The misdemeanour occurred last week at their plush base in the Algarve and the players were subsequently left out of the 3-1 friendly defeat against Willem II on Friday.
Head coach Neil Lennon and director of football operations George Craig delivered a dressing down to Stokes, Boyle and Swanson individually and they were swiftly punished.
The incident is an unwelcome distraction ahead of Sunday’s Edinburgh derby against Hearts in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
However, it is understood Easter Road chiefs now consider the matter to be closed and the offending parties will be available for selection for the visit to Tynecastle.
It is the second time Lennon has clashed with marquee signing Stokes this season as his tumultuous relationship with the gifted attacker, stretching back to when he managed the player at Celtic, continues.
The Republic of Ireland international was sent home from training in November after Lennon was irked by his attitude. Stokes has since said ‘as far as I was concerned I didn’t do anything wrong’, however the boss stated at the time ‘there are certain codes of conduct and a level of discipline you can’t cross with me.’
He was dropped for the following Premiership game against Hamilton.
Swanson has endured a frustrating campaign, with illness and a persistent knee complaint restricting him to just 10 appearances since joining his boyhood heroes from St Johnstone last summer.
Prior to travelling to the Algarve, the 31-year-old outlined his determination to use the trip as a springboard for a starting berth, stating ‘Portugal will be a big week for me – I want to come back raring to go.’
Boyle, meanwhile, has been in sparkling form this term, scoring five goals in 26 appearances from the wing, and was rewarded earlier this month with a new contract tying him to the Easter Road outfit until the summer of 2021.
