Source: Team_Talk
Hughes bids farewell to East Stand
Hibernian's SPL match against St Johnstone on Saturday is their last game before the terrace is demolished, kicking off the final stage of the stadium's redevelopment.[LNB]From sneaking into the ground as a Hibs-mad youngster, to running up and down its steps as a trialist, to supporting the 'Hands off Hibs' campaign as a Falkirk player, the East Stand has been one of the key backdrops to Hughes' life and career.[LNB]"I'd better watch what I'm saying here - the chairman will be taking all my wages back off me!" the Hibs boss joked when recalling vaulting over the wall as a youngster.[LNB]"We all used to meet down the bottom of the enclosure in that stand - that was the Leith corner.[LNB]"If you lost your friends, you just made your way down there."[LNB]He added: "I used to come in here as a 15-year-old trialist.[LNB]"Every now and then, you'd get a bit of terracing work, a wee bit of character testing to see who could get up and down it."[LNB]But Hughes' greatest memory comes from 20 years ago, when fans staged a protest at the stadium against the proposed merger with arch-rivals Hearts.[LNB]"Some of the great players and legends were on the pitch," Hughes recalled.[LNB]"Joe Baker was kissing the surface and it was, 'Hands off us; we're standing together to save our club'.[LNB]"I was standing on that terracing with all my mates, standing on that terracing watching it and saying, 'Come on then, let's try to get behind the club'.[LNB]"I was playing at Falkirk at the time but it doesn't stop you supporting your local club."[LNB]Like Hughes, those who regularly sit in the East Stand will have their own special memories of the terrace.[LNB]"There'll be guys in there who stood in the same spot, now sitting in the same spot for a number of years," Hughes said.[LNB]"Great atmosphere with the Hibees bounce and 'Sunshine on Leith'.[LNB]"I'm quite sure that a number of fans will come along, they'll be very nostalgic.[LNB]"Hopefully they'll get their seat and wee bits of memorabilia."[LNB]Of the new 6,400-capacity stand that will boost Easter Road's capacity to 20,250, Hughes said: "You have to move with the times.[LNB]"The plans I've seen, one big stand, steep.[LNB]"If I was a Hibs supporter, I'd maybe be looking to buy my season ticket over there.[LNB]"If they can create the same atmosphere as they did, it'll be one of the best stadia to go and play your football in in Scotland."[LNB]Hughes is desperate to give the stand the perfect send-off with a victory on Saturday.[LNB]But that will be far from easy against a Saints side who thrashed Hibs 5-1 last week.[LNB]Hughes revealed he had repeatedly watched videos of that game in a desperate bid to end the Edinburgh club's worst run of the season.[LNB]Hibs have taken just one point from the last four games, loosening their stranglehold on third place.[LNB]Last week's match at McDiarmid Park also saw Hughes sent to the stand and he is considering appealing a six-match touchline ban.[LNB]He has until Friday to do so and may do on the basis his conduct over the last three years has been taken into account.[LNB]The former Falkirk boss said: "Why should Hibs be punished for what I did at my old club three years ago?"[LNB]It is understood Hibs on Thursday wrote to the Scottish Football Association making representations on Hughes' behalf in the hope of getting his ban reduced.[LNB][LNB]
