Ross expects Hibs to buck up ideas in Perth
JACK ROSS has confessed that Hibernian cannot afford to lose their heads as they seek to arrest a worrying slump in the Premiership.
The Easter Road side reached the Premier Sports Cup final with a stirring victory over Rangers at Hampden last Sunday but followed that up by recording a fifth consecutive defeat in the league with Wednesday night’s 1-0 loss to Ross County.
A late red card for Christian Doidge was compounded after the full-time whistle when Martin Boyle was dismissed for remonstrating with referee Gavin Duncan.
Ross has revealed he has since spoken with his errant players individually and collectively, but insists the discipline required to spark a league revival stretches to more than just avoiding the wrath of referees.
“We have individual conversations with players all the time but collectively we’ve had that with the players,” he said. “The discipline isn’t just the obvious things, it’s about the last part of the game [against County] because we got ragged in the last 10 minutes.
“I understand it, because we’re a goal down and chasing the game, and we’re on a bad run. But we need to retain that, because what we had last Sunday [against Rangers] was an enormous amount of discipline, in all aspects of our performance. So, we need to ensure we have that.
“The discipline carries across loads of different areas. It does become a little bit harder to retain that all the time when you’re frustrated, and the players undoubtedly are because they’re in the midst of this run.
“But this is the time more than ever when they need to have it.”
This afternoon’s trip to face bogey team St Johnstone is the first of an exhausting 11 matches in the space of just 37 days for Hibs. With the December 19 cup final against Celtic it could be a memorable spell for the Easter Road side.
Ross admits the current run of results, however, is giving him his most testing time in the dugout. Yet, the 45-year-old is adamant that performances – especially last Sunday’s
Premier Sports Cup semi-final triumph over Rangers – make him more upbeat.
“It’s not acceptable for us as a club but the work we’re doing to rectify things, and with what the players have given, it’s not a worry for me,” he added. “The results are [a worry], because we need to rectify that as quickly as possible. We need to start winning games as quickly as possible.
“Results-wise, obviously, this is the hardest spell I’ve had. But it’s strange because it’s not felt like that – and I know that might be an unusual thing to say. It’s because in the midst of it there have been some good performances. Plus, working with the players every day, I don’t feel like we’re a team that’s on that run.”
Michael O’Halloran, meanwhile, has challenged St Johnstone to kick off a surge up the Premiership table by defeating Hibernian on Saturday.
After their cup double success last term, Saints have struggled to generate any consistency and have spent the entire season so far in the bottom six of the cinch Premiership.
He said: “I was just looking at the league table and it’s pretty close. We’re not far from the top half, and that’s our aim. Hibs are not in the best run but they were very good in the semi-final last week.
“They deservedly came third last year so we know they’re a good side and we know the threat they possess. But we’re at home and we’ll be looking to stamp our own authority on the game.
“We can climb a few places if we win so there’s a lot of incentive there. We finished top six last year, so hopefully we can get some sort of run going.”