Hanlon hails ‘feelgood factor’ at Easter Road

Paul Hanlon believes Hibernian have the mental stamina to go the distance in the race for second place in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The Easter Road defender, who this week penned a new deal tying him to Leith until 2022, has been impressed with the way his side have handled their high-profile clashes this term.

Neil Lennon’s men have won twice at Ibrox, held Celtic to a draw and come out on top against rivals Hearts in two of their four derby battles this term.

And he reckons the strength of character displayed in those wins could be vital as they try to chase down Rangers and Aberdeen, especially after the Dons and Gers suffered confidence-sapping defeats as they crashed out of the William Hill Scottish Cup last weekend.

Hanlon, who will lead Hibs out against Celtic when they visit Edinburgh today, said: “I watched the two games. Both Aberdeen and Rangers might have had their confidence dented slightly but it’s their job to refocus and go again in the league.

“Here, though, the whole place is buzzing. There is such a feelgood factor about the place.

“It’s up to us as players to keep that going, and picking up three points this weekend would be a massive boost ahead of the run-in.

“It would definitely set us up nicely going into the remaining games.

“The top six is all about having that mental strength, with you having to play all the best sides in the league. Every game will be very tough.

“But we’ve dealt with the big games this season pretty well so far and I’d like to think that would give us the edge.

“We’ll have to do it again now, but they are all coming back-to-back now and we need to be ready for each one.”