Rocky Bushiri says not playing for Hibs on a regular basis this season is affecting him.
And the central defender has told the press ahead of the Easter Road showdown between Hibs and Aberdeen tonight that he has held private talks with boss David Gray over his lack of minutes.
Bushiri played 35 games for the Hibees last season under previous boss Nick Montgomery. But since Gray was appointed permanent manager, he’s not see much action on the pitch.
In contrast, Bushiri has started just one Premiership game this season and that was the weekend’s 4-1 thumping against Dundee that saw Hibs’ winless run extend to eight games.
He started two of the Premier Sports Cup group stage clashes in the summer but it’s clear Gray was more keen to pair Warren O’Hora and Marvin Ekpiteta at the back.
Rocky Bushiri on lack of Hibs minutes
But Ekpiteta is now injured for a few weeks so Bushiri has a chance to impress amid a very difficult time for the club.
On his lack of game time, Bushiri said: “It’s difficult. It’s hard. Because last season, I was playing a lot. And not playing has affected me, but of course, we underachieved last season.
“And the club wanted to try something different and change. And I need to accept that. As a player, at the end of the day, you need to accept that and keep working hard.”
Asked if he’d spoken to Gray about his situation, Bushiri replied: “Yes, but I’m not going to talk here about my private chats with the manager.”
Hibs have ‘experience’ to turn form around
Asked if he’s confident Hibs have enough quality to turn around their dreadful form at the moment, Bushiri replied bluntly: “Yes, I do.
“Football can go very fast. And like I said, I’ve been in Belgium, I’ve been in England, and I’ve also been in those situations.
“I think in the changing room, there are players that have been also in the past, in their clubs, in difficult situations, in the situation where we are now. And know what to do to go back up.
“So the confidence will come with a win. Confidence will come with results, of course. But by giving everything, we will create confidence at some point.
“It’s hard to say now, but of course, in every game, there are positives. It’s difficult to think about every game now. I think the staff analyse every game and take the positives. That’s what we try to bring into the next game and the next game.
“The game we played on Saturday, the positives are that we started well on the front foot. We scored an early goal, so those are also positives to take.
“The atmosphere can’t be great because you are not winning football games, but you need to take things in context, not out of the context.
“When you have a red card, we had this a lot this season, so that has also affected games. I think everyone is still 100% motivated to do well. It’s not like people don’t try.
“Listen, most of the players are over 100 games, over 100 professional games, so we should have the character and the experience as well.
“OK, still a few young, we are still young, but we have now the experience, so I think we can turn this around.”