Pat Stanton insists he has not been as excited about Hibs since Tony Mowbray reared the golden generation at Easter Road.
Neil Lennon’s appointment as head coach has reinforced the feel-good factor in Leith in the wake of the club’s historic Scottish Cup success and a bumper 16,500 crowd roared the team to victory over Dunfermline in the Championship last weekend.
Hibs legend Stanton enjoyed watching the Mowbray era when the likes of Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Garry O’Connor, Derek Riordan and Steven Fletcher led the club to a third and fourth place top-flight finish in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Hibs will bid to win their opening three league matches for the first time since the 1974/75 season when they travel to St Mirren this weekend and former player and manager Stanton is confident former Celtic boss Lennon can deliver title glory.
He said: “Neil’s arrival was a massive coup for the club and he is a very determined man.
“Neil has had great experience in the game and he will expect his players to think about the game the same way as he does.
“If you don’t fall into that category then you won’t have much of a career at Easter Road.
“There has been a few false dawns along the way but this is reminiscent of the golden generation that came through the ranks under Tony Mowbray 12 years ago.
“The Hibs supporters are excited again by what they are seeing.
“It is no secret that the club were drifting along for many years with no direction for the club.
“A lot of supporters felt that way.
“That seems to have changed with those involved at boardroom level and in the background.
“The cup has been won now and I cannot emphasise how crucial it is for Hibs to be promoted this season.
“The supporters are doing their bit off the park and it is up to the players to now deliver on the park and to realise how important going up is.
“It was great to see the crowd of 16,500 inside Easter Road last weekend as the fans are important.
“I was delighted to see the supporters come out in those numbers.
“Jock Stein said it when he became the manager of Celtic that ‘football without the fans is nothing.
“That is key at any club.”
