A young Martin Boyle always dreamed of performing on football’s biggest stage. He grew up in Aberdeen obsessed with football.
16-year-old ‘Boyler’ started his journey at semi-professional side Montrose – a club an hour south of his hometown.
The commute wasn’t easy, and he barely broke even, so he got a little side job at Trump International, Scotland, raking bunkers.
“It was great playing for Montrose,” said Martin, who extended his Hibs stay this month until the summer of 2024. “At 16 or 17 I went into a big boy dressing room and that was a real eye opener.
“I also went into the big world of work. I got the job at Trump’s golf course through an agency. I helped build it, actually, doing all the sand dunes and digging out the weeds.
“I actually did a variety of odd jobs. I spent some time as a delivery courier and would unload boxes off the back of a lorry and put them into vans. It was mayhem because I’d work, train, work, sleep. I was running all over the place, but thankfully I had young legs.
“I am now in a privileged position where I come into work every day with a big smile on my face. All I wanted to do when I was a little boy was to be a professional footballer and thankfully, I’ve done that. I started at the bottom, and now I’ve worked my way up to Hibs.”
For Martin, life is very simple: it’s all about happiness and enjoying every last second of what he does. And that’s something you can see clearly in his larger-than-life personality. Teammates have described him as being ‘on it’ every day.
“He’s elite in personality and is lively every single day,” said Christian Doidge. “No-one would change him for the world.”
“For me, he’s as good as anyone in this country in his position,” added head coach Jack Ross. “And long may it continue because he’s a major asset for us.”
On top of all that, a large part of his happiness comes from his family. His wife Rachel – who plays for Hibernian Women and scored in our 10-0 SWPL Cup win over Stirling University last week – and his three-year-old daughter, Amelia.
“Hibs means everything to my family,” said Martin, who joined us from Dundee in 2015. “Some might not be aware, but when I was on loan at Montrose in 2013, Dundee cut it short, and I got a knee injury. It was a really difficult time for me. But Hibs took a risk and offered me a two-year deal which was fantastic. I was basically out, and they gave me a chance.
“We are really happy, we live just down the road, my wife plays for Hibs Women, and we’ve got a strong relationship with the club.
“My daughter Amelia was born before the pandemic, but only really during it was she old enough to come to games. But she had to stay at home suddenly and didn’t know what was happening. Ross County was her first game in 18 months and she really enjoyed it. She kept shouting, ‘Hibees’, she loved seeing the stadium and that put a smile on my face. I even took her on the pitch for a kickabout!
“Having my family with me again at Easter Road really put life into perspective and showed me how happy I am, but more importantly how happy my family is.”
Martin is thriving currently. The gaffer has got the best out of him and touted him as one of the top players in Scotland in his position.
His figures over the past 18 months have really backed that up. 15 goals and 13 assists in all competitions last campaign, alongside more bottles of Eden Mill ‘Man of the Match’ gin than you can count!
This season Boyler has already scored six goals in his first eight games and is striving to take his game to the next level in the hope of not only firing Hibs up the table but putting himself firmly in the mix for a 2022 World Cup call out in Qatar next winter.
“When I first came in, I was a bit raw. I was like a speedboat with no driver. I was just fast,” smiled Martin. “Under the management staff here, I’ve been able to kick on each season. I’ve got better at different aspects of my game; I’ve worked hard to do that and thankfully I’ve hit different heights.
“The gaffer’s been great with me. He was a massive part of this. I’ve been speaking to him all the time. What he’s brought to me, the freedom he gives me on the pitch and the trust we have together is brilliant.
“He’s the type of manager that you don’t want to let down because he’s put that much trust in you. Hopefully I can keep contributing for the club.
“There’s a plan in place for what we want to achieve at this club and on a personal level, too. “It was a successful season last campaign, minus the cups, so if we can maintain that league status of competing up there and add a trophy, which is a big aim, then we can build as a club and progress even further. We want to do something special.
“We want to secure European football, too, it’s a big aspect of what we want to do here. We’ve had a good start to the season this year, so hopefully we can do that again.
“My journey so far has been tremendous, and I don’t want it to stop. The World Cup is a big aim, but I know I need to be doing well for Hibs to be in contention.”
Boyle has been called up for Australia’s World Cup qualifiers against China and Vietnam during the international break. He qualifies for the Socceroos via his dad, Graeme, who was born in Sydney. And when asked why he picked Australia over Scotland he revealed, “They just asked me first!”
After winning his first cap against South Korea on November 7, 2018 – coming on as a sub for then Hibs teammate Jamie Maclaren – Martin went on to score two goals in a 3-0 victory over Lebanon three days later.
Now with seven caps to his name and having been nominated for the PFA Australian Player of the Year award, he has his sights firmly set on Qatar 2022.
“If you’d have told me when raking sand for Trump, I’d be in the mix to one day play in a World Cup I’d have laughed you off the face of the planet. But perhaps it’s fitting. I started making sand dunes and there are plenty of those in Doha! It would be fantastic to help Hibs improve on last season, win some silverware and represent Australia in Qatar. Those are definitely the main goals and if I keep scoring goals I’ll get there.”
