We can still finish best of the rest, says Barker

BRANDON BARKER insists Hibs have the character and quality to stay in the hunt for second place despite their agonising defeat to Rangers.

The on-loan Manchester City winger admitted seeing three points slip away on Wednesday night was tougher to accept than a heavy loss.

Barker struck both posts in a stand-out contribution as a second-half substitute, while Hibs were also angered by referee Kevin Clancy not spotting a handball in the penalty area by Ibrox defender David Bates.

Rangers clung on to see out a 2-1 victory and remain ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference in second spot, six points clear of the Easter Road club.

Barker is adamant Hibs’ hopes of finishing best of the rest should not be written off as a result, yet recognises the importance of a positive outcome in tomorrow’s lunchtime kick-off at Pittodrie.

‘We are definitely in the mix for second,’ said the 21-year-old (right). ‘Last Sunday, we were 2-0 down against Celtic and I don’t know how many teams would come back and get a point.

‘That just shows our character. We were 2-1 down against Rangers and it was the same — you could see our fight. We would never ever just bow down and fold.

‘We always believe that we can win. That showed with the number of chances we created against Rangers.

‘Hopefully, we can stay right in contact with the teams in second place. I am sure we will.

‘I am not going to sit here and say that we are the second-best team in the league. But we have gone toe-to-toe with every team. ‘Celtic are a very strong side. They are competing in Europe. But the other two? Every time we have played against them, we have shown we can go toe-to-toe. ‘It is looking up for us. We are a confident bunch of players and, hopefully, we can get that slice of luck.

‘We need to take points off Aberdeen with us losing to Rangers. It’s a must-win game. Hopefully, we will go there and do the business.’

Manager Neil Lennon boldly set out an ambition to become Celtic’s nearest challengers after winning promotion from the Ladbrokes Championship last season.

‘Was second always the aim? Definitely,’ said Barker. ‘The manager believes in us. Everyone can see that in the way he talks to us and talks about us. He definitely believes we can finish second. ‘I’m not going to say we will finish second because that would be stupid. But the performances show that, when we play the big teams, there hasn’t been a game where we have been dominated. ‘If anything, we dominated when we played against Aberdeen. It was the same against Rangers. ‘It wasn’t an even game, if we are being honest. They had two free shots and scored two.

‘That’s disappointing on our behalf but the defence were brilliant in the game. The whole team was.

‘It gives us confidence but we didn’t get the three points, which is annoying.

‘We are a team who have just come up from the Championship but we’re not here to make up the numbers.’

Barker replaced Oli Shaw after 49 minutes against Rangers and proceeded to torment opposing right-back James Tavernier. After striking the far post with a curling effort, he saw a second attempt tipped on to the opposite upright by Wes Foderingham.

‘I did as much as I could,’ said Barker. ‘I hit both posts, which was gutting for me.

‘The keeper made an unbelievable save for the second one. I just have to go again and try to score on Saturday.’

Barker agreed with manager Lennon about the ‘blatant’ nature of Bates’ handball with 15 minutes remaining.

‘Officials are there to make the big calls,’ he said. ‘It’s a stone-waller. I’ve watched the clips back.’