Christian Doidge has seen young strike partner Kevin Nisbet tear up the Premiership in his first top-flight season.
He’s watched as Martin Boyle has ripped defences apart with his pace and precision.
He’s been happy to join the party with goals in every round of the Scottish Cup as Hibs have blazed a trail back to Hampden for the third time this season.
The two other visits might have resulted in cup semi-final defeats to Hearts in last year’s held-over Scottish Cup and St Johnstone in this term’s Betfred Cup, but Doidge is adamant his team will not be carrying emotional baggage into today’s clash with Dundee United.
His confidence is cemented by the manner in which he and the dynamo duo who play off and around him have worried defences all season as Hibs have set themselves up for a third-place league finish.
The trio have netted 43 times and Doidge is hoping his cup run of four goals in three games against Queen of the South, Stranraer and Motherwell will be extended today.
He said: “Every game we’ve played against Dundee United has been very difficult.
“Their rotation in midfield is very good and the lads up front are very sharp. All three have scored a lot of goals in their careers, so we know their strengths and weaknesses and hopefully we can get the result.
“Our results have been very good against them but we know the cup’s a one-off game at Hampden and we’re really looking forward to it.
“It’s definitely going to be a game that’s about how the attackers do.
“With their front three, it’s going to be down to our lads at the back to try to stop them.
“That’s going to be a very difficult task but if we can keep it as tight as we can, us lads at the front can hopefully do the job.
“Boyley playing out wide has that electric pace that can cause havoc for any defender. He has been outstanding this year.
“It’s Kev’s first year in the Scottish Premiership.
“No one really knew how he was going to handle it. Would he come in and score a hatful of goals? Kev has got that instinct in front of goal and he can score from any kind of angle.
“I’m here to support those lads and try to get a few goals myself. We get on great off the pitch as well.
“Everybody knows what Boyley’s character is like, very loud and full of banter.
“Kev is a little bit quieter but he’s a typical Glasgow boy with a great character.
“I play golf with Boyley a lot. Kev’s not got the sticks out yet but he’s looking into it.
“Because of Covid we haven’t been able to socialise much outside of football so a lot of it has just been inside the training ground. It’s been a great laugh.”
The serious head will be on this afternoon though.
Doidge knows questions have been asked about Hibs’ mentality, having fallen at this hurdle in the Betfred Cup and last season’s Scottish Cup, which was played this term. He insisted: “We are looking forward to going back. It’s a great test for us.
“Obviously the results we’ve had there this season have been very disappointing but we’ve got to move on. We’ve been working extremely hard to get the result we need this weekend and hopefully we can do that.
“There is definitely a winning mentality at the football club. We’ve got lads who have won the cup before. They know what it takes to do that.”
The Welshman knows a win today coupled with avoiding defeat at Pittodrie on Wednesday – a result that would secure third spot – would set his side up for a great end to the season.
It won’t be enough to earn Jack Ross a Manager of the Year award and the Hibs striker admitted to raising his eyebrows when he saw the shortlist.
He added: “I saw it on Twitter and was a bit baffled by that. When you think where we were last season and what we’ve done this year it’s very strange but I don’t think it’s something he’ll look at much.”
