Hibs striker: 'I replay missed chances in my head 70 times on sleepless nights.'

Sleepless nights as missed opportunities play on an endless mental loop. Being on such a downer that even close family can’t lift the mood. All played out in an arena where the protagonist is too often considered an asset, the sum total of all those plus and minus points on some data chart, rather than a human being.

Dylan Vente genuinely loves his life as a professional footballer. Clearly always someone who has enjoyed the emotional release of the beautiful game, his first half season at Hibs has been almost everything he hoped it would be. Almost.

But it’s a hard business. A brutal industry where healthy self-analysis can easily tip over into harmful self-criticism. Especially when you’re the guy paid specifically to score goals.

Vente, aware that he probably should have buried the late chance that fell to him in last week’s derby loss to Hearts, admits: “I am hard on myself because I know I can do more. For me it’s more if I miss chances, as a striker I am really disappointed. But I also have to find a way to get those chances. 

“I replay the chances my mind but if you want to sleep, I am thinking like crazy. I take a moment out of a game like 70 times, and I start rethinking about it! I think it is better to go sleep and watch it the next day; I think that is normal for a footballer.

“If you miss a chance then you think maybe I should hit it with my left foot, or right foot. You start overthinking; even now I am doing it.”

Flying festive visits from his mum and dad, Dennis and Cindi, followed by brother Deoni provided some much-needed home comfort for Vente during this busy period of football. For someone who values family as much as he clearly does, it meant a lot to have his loved ones close to hand. Even if their efforts to cheer him up were destined to fall flat.

“My brother and his girlfriend were over and left on Friday,” he revealed, adding: “It was good to see them. And also my parents came over on Christmas Day and they left on Boxing Day. Then my brother came. I am a family man, so it feels good to see them.

“Maybe some people see you as a football player and don’t see the other side. There is always a normal guy inside who wants to see his family. Sometimes I miss home but that’s football and part of the job.

“My brother and his girlfriend were staying with me at my apartment last week. After a game I am always complaining, complaining, complaining but my brother is always like: ‘Be calm, it will come next time.’ He keeps me calm but after the derby, in that evening it was hard to keep me calm.

“If my family is not there then I always call with my dad, he always watches the games. I always talk with him, and my dad is always like: “Take it easy.’ He is not a complainer; even if I play bad, he always sees the positives - that is good. For the Hearts game it was hard.”

As tough as he finds things following a bad day at work, Vente loves the fact that he gets so many chances to make immediate amends, the 24-year-old explaining: “Even on the training pitch you don’t think about anything, that’s the nice part about football. Even if you have troubles somewhere else at home, on the pitch it’s just you and the ball. I can take it out of my head, we had a team meeting and now we have to look forward to the next game.”

With Adam Le Fondre still battling back from injury and Martin Boyle already away with the Socceroos at the Asian Cup, Vente can’t call upon much in the way of support as he leads the line – doing more running and chance creation than he has done at any stage in his career to date – for Hibs against Motherwell today. If he’s feeling the pressure, he won’t admit it.

The former Feyenoord prospect said: “Martin is away with Australia now. Josh Campbell has an injury. But I don’t get the feeling it’s all on me because there is enough quality, and we have different qualities in the team, and they can all contribute and fix the game. They can do their own thing. Against Motherwell we need to fix that.”