We are letting the club down, admits Hanlon

FOR Hibs, October began with a trip to Ibrox knowing a win over Rangers would see Jack Ross’ side go top of the Premiership. But, over the course of a gruesome month, the Easter Road side have picked up no points and slipped down to fifth place in the table.

The last time they suffered four straight league defeats in the top flight was en route to relegation under Terry Butcher in 2013-14.

Turned over 3-0 on their own patch by Dundee United in their last home game, the boos rang out in Leith on Wednesday night when Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kyogo Furuhashi put Celtic into a commanding 3-0 first-half lead.

That anger was replicated in the dressing room at half-time and again at full-time after Ryan Porteous had notched a second-half consolation in a 3-1 loss.

But this group of Hibs players are hoping if they can play like they did after the break, they can get back to winning ways and ease the pressure.

‘We were all questioning each other. I would be worried if we weren’t,’ admitted defender Paul Hanlon. ‘There were a lot of heated players and players who are determined to put things right.

‘In the second half, we improved quite a bit and restored some pride but it was a disappointing night.

‘I think we had to show that fighting spirit in the second half and show we weren’t going to cave in, crumble and let it get any worse.

‘We did that, to an extent, but the first half was where the damage was done. The second-half performance has got to be a springboard.

‘If we had played the way we did in the first half in the second half as well, then it might have been a case of: “Where do we go from here?”

‘But I think there were positives in the second half and it is now up to us as players to put everything right because we are not performing well enough at the minute, for the fans, the club, the manager.

‘We are under a bit of pressure just now and it is up to us to put it right.

‘It is up to us to give the gaffer a bit back because we are not doing enough for him at the minute.’

Hibs were leading at Ibrox through a Kevin Nisbet header and playing well in the home of the champions before Porteous was sent off and Rangers fought back to win 2-1.

Losing 1-0 at Aberdeen either side of 3-0 and 3-1 home losses to Dundee United and Celtic completed an unwanted four in a row.

Given the poverty of Hibs’ displays during the run, Hanlon (below) can’t take any comfort from the fact their defeats have been amid a tough run of matches. But he would take a scrappy 1-0 win in Dingwall tomorrow against a Ross County side on a high from shocking Dundee 5-0 at Dens Park on Wednesday night.

‘I’m not sure about (the tough run of games) because it is more the manner of the performances,’ he said. ‘No matter who we were playing, if we are performing like that we are not going to win games. But when you lose a few games in a row, it gets to the stage where you just want to win, any kind of win.

‘We will try to do it in a good way, with a bit of style but, realistically, all that matters is that we go up to Dingwall this weekend and win.

‘It is a huge game and we are all looking forward to it.

‘Ross County will be full of confidence after their win over Dundee but we went up there last year and got a big win that really helped push us towards finishing third.

‘We will be looking to use a win up there to get our season going again. It’s probably the strongest top flight since we came back up to the Premiership.

‘I would say that most of the top teams in Scotland are all fighting it out. There are a lot of derby games but a lot of teams are looking strong, so every game is really competitive.’