Lennon makes his priorities clear as players feel the ‘rage’
Manager wants more intensity as Hibs seek to see off Hearts at Easter Road
WHEN Neil Lennon was unveiled as Hibernian head coach last June, he declared to the assembled press corps that he had mellowed. A few eyebrows raised.
The snarling, prowling figure who patrolled the midfield and, latterly, the touchline for Celtic had been soothed by age and experience. He almost believed it himself.
Then Hibs’ meek 1-1 draw against Raith Rovers on Saturday brought about a ferocious rebuke of his players, comparable with anything he dished out to his trophy-hunting Celtic stars of yesteryear or those relegation-haunted Bolton players.
So much so, that he was pleasantly surprised. The “rage” is still there, he noted yesterday with a smile. Lennon hopes it has the desired impact tonight when his thoroughly chastened players take to the field to face Hearts.
“What actually pleased me was that I’ve still got the rage! I thought I’d mellowed,” he said. “But I’ve still got it.
“I caught myself [getting angry] — and that’s no bad thing. It still means so much. There is a time and a place for moments like that. We must maintain the standards that we feel are needed. I can’t sugarcoat performances and it would be foolish to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Am I looking for a reaction? Any manager would after a disappointing performance.
“I think these guys have got good mental strength when they really need it. Hearts is a different animal. There will be intensity, an atmosphere, and I’m sure the players will feed off that.”
Perhaps the most damning assessment of his side’s display in Fife — there are a few to choose from amid descriptions such as “disgraceful”, “unprofessional” and “abject”—- was the tacit implication that the current Hibs side pick and choose when to perform, raising their game for high-profile fixtures.
“I think that’s a natural assumption to make when you look at the results,” said Lennon. “What I’m looking for going forward is more intensity, concentration and application. In professional football, if you’re going for a title or going for a double, then you can’t pick and choose your games.”
Complacency, however, will not be an issue under the lights at a sold-out Easter Road tonight. Hibs waited 114 years to lift the Scottish Cup and Lennon has no intention of being the man to hand it back.
Indeed, he admitted to a few little white lies throughout this season when suggesting winning the Championship was his sole priority.
“We are very positive going into the game,” Lennon continued. “I don’t want to give [the cup] up to anybody.
“Our priority is the league. Our priority is the Scottish Cup too. We have two priorities now. I know I have been saying all along that the league is the priority but I have been lying!”
John McGinn, one of those singled out for criticism by Lennon in Kirkcaldy, described the dressing down as “deserved” and, while he heard the audio during his drive home from Fife, he revealed it was nothing compared to the “far more ferocious” post-mortem in the dressing room at full-time.
He laughed off suggestions that it was a ploy from Lennon to ensure Hibs are particularly fired up tonight, however, there can be little doubt McGinn is keen to right a few wrongs.
“The manager is doing it because he knows we can do better,” said the Scotland internationalist. “We’re all in it together and we’re keen to put on a show for him on Wednesday night and, at the same time, prove him wrong — and hopefully get a bit of praise after!”
‘Putting on a show’ will be easier at Easter Road than it proved at Tynecastle when the sides played out a 0-0 stalemate on a pockmarked pitch.
McGinn candidly agreed with detractors who suggested it was arguably the worst Edinburgh derby ever, but believes far more palatable fare will be served up this evening, with an appetising quarter-final place against Ayr United up for grabs.
“The first game? It was terrible,” McGinn laughed ruefully. “I felt sorry for the Hearts boys that they had to play on that pitch again at the weekend.
“It was important for them to get that fixed because it really was impossible to play any kind of football on it. It was more like a boxing fight with no winner.
“I read a few people saying it was the worst Edinburgh derby for years — and I would agree with them.”
Easter Road is on course to register its biggest crowd since the iconic “Wayne Foster derby” 23 years ago when “Fozzy” wrote his name in Hearts folklore by scoring the last-gasp winner in a 2-1 Scottish Cup win. That extended Hearts’ unbeaten run over their city rivals to 21 matches, and was watched by 20,953 fans. Hibs expect tonight’s tie – which is not being televised – to be close to a 20,421 sell-out.
Lewis Stevenson will pull level with the legendary Pat Stanton on 32 Edinburgh derby appearances if he plays against Hearts tonight.
Hibs will piece together their longest unbeaten run in the Edinburgh derby since 1978 if they win tonight. They have not been beaten by Hearts in their last six games, the last loss coming at Tynecastle in August 2014.