Lewis Stevenson feared Hibs love affair was ending and came to terms with leaving before signing new deal

Lewis Stevenson admits he was braced for his 18-year love affair with Hibs finally coming to an end this summer. Even he reckons it’s not quite right to have a 35-year-old starting most weeks at left-back.

But after being handed another 12-month deal this week the club’s record league appearance holder insists he’s bucking the trend because he’s still getting BETTER with age. The veteran has spent so long patrolling the left flank in Leith that the demands of the position have completely changed - and more than once.

But Stevenson - who sits fourth of the club’s all-time record appearances list on 572 - is up for the challenge of another year at the top. Even if he never dreamed he’d be in this position when Tony Mowbray handed him his first professional deal in 2005. He said: “It’s strange. I’ve never really had a long-term deal either, my first contract at 17 I think was five years and after that it’s been one or two years ever since.

“I’ve worked hard and there have been times when I’ve been very close to not getting another contract. This was probably the closest I’ve been to not getting one.

“I understood the club’s position, they need to move on and evolve and try and look to the future but I still think I can do a decent job here, whether that’s starting or backing up the person in front of me. There were times when I resigned myself to leaving.

"Even when I was playing, 35 year-old and I can see where the manager and club is coming from. You should not really be having a 35-year-old starter at left back but I think I’ve done fairly well, especially since the turn of the year, the team has done well.

“The gaffer has been brilliant with me, he’s been honest and there are things he wants me to improve on and