Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Lenny calls for Hibs to respond
NEIL Lennon expects to see a reaction from his players as Hibs prepare to take on Livingston in the Betfred Cup quarter-final.
The Hibs boss was fuming with his side’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ performance against Motherwell on Saturday, when they gave up a two-goal lead as they were held 2-2 to make it three draws on the bounce.
They host Livingston tonight and Lennon made it clear he expects his players to bounce back in what he expects to be a tough game.
“Whenever we’ve had a disappointing or adverse performance, I’ve always had a decent bounce back from this group,” he said.
“I like t his group but sometimes they throw one in from left field and you’re like ‘where does it come from?’
“You’re l eft scratching your head but it’s down to me to make sure it’s not a regular occurrence.
“Sometimes they’re Jekyll and Hyde — really good for long periods and then a malaise sets in and they can’t get themselves out of it.
“We need to rectify that or try to make it better.”
Lennon was openly critical of his players following the game, and admits it has coaxed improved performances out of his side before
He said: “I can’t sugar coat abject performances. I lambasted them after Raith Rovers last season and then we went and beat Hearts comfortably on the Wednesday night.
“Whether we get that type of reaction again, I don’t know.”
He added: “They know they let themselves down, they’re disappointed but we’re over it now and have a quarter-final to look forward to which is a big game in the context of the season.
“It i s one we should approach i n a positive manner.”