Jack Ross says Martin Boyle is no diver as he insisted the row over his penalty at Ross County last weekend helped shine a light on his underrated contribution to Hibernian’s European push.
John Hughes accused the Australian international of ‘conning’ referee John Beaton by tumbling to the deck to win a penalty as the Easter Road side claimed three points in Dingwall.
Yogi doubled down on those remarks during the week, having previously joked Boyle should have been ‘wearing speedos’ to go with his over-dramatic fall.
The talismanic forward dusted himself off to bury the resulting spot kick, for his 11th league goal of the campaign, though later infuriated the home side again by going over in the area without punishment.
Ross joked there was no issue with the remarks taking the spring out of the effervescent 27-year-old’s step, but admitted he felt the accusations over his conduct slightly crossed the line.
And he pointed out that the Premiership’s second most fouled player this season had offered plenty more than talking points across the campaign.
"You know what Martin is like, he doesn’t get bothered by that," he said.
"I said at the time and i have said subsequently that I didn't agree with that choice of language and I think John has reflected on that as well. As far as I was concerned, it was done.
"I have spoken to him [Boyle] through the week about what matters and for me it is about highlighting the number of goals and assists Martin has had.
"What I think last week maybe did is help shine a light on him because in terms of how many goals and assists he has had because I think he has gone under the radar a bit. But people started to dig a bit deeper and realised, ‘wow, he’s had a brilliant season’.
"For a player who has spent sometimes as a striker and some time in a wider area, if he can continue that vein until the end of the season, for a player who is predominantly a wide player, he is going to have an outstanding return in terms of goals and assists."
Boyle has recovered from two serious knee injuries since 2019 to emerge as one of the Hibees’ most important players, provoking jubilation among the Easter Road faithful when he inked a new deal last year following speculation over his future.
Ross likened his playing style to that of Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, another player who has received criticism from some quarters over his apparent tendency to go over too easily.
But the comparison goes deeper than that for the Hibs boss, who pointed out his overall contribution is as vital to the men in green and white as Grealish is to their claret and blue counterparts.
"If you are comparing Jack Grealish to Martin Boyle, obviously Grealish is a hundred times better looking," Ross laughed.
"But when we speak about every type of incident like that, we speak about how quickly players move. He [Grealish] perhaps has taken some similar criticism, but moves brilliantly on the ball and moves really quickly and no one wants to be kicked.
"Martin has had serious injuries as well, I don’t think that’s on his mind when he plays, but I just think that he wants to avoid contact, that’s what boxers do, what footballers try and do, they try to avoid it. He moves ridiculously quickly with the ball and changes direction quickly as well, so that is a factor."
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