Ross backs players and insists Hibs are still doing ‘better than alright’
● Easter Road boss refuses to accept negativity after gloomy reaction to derby defeat
Such are the demands from football fans, past results can quickly fade into the background when a derby defeat throws up an emotional smokescreen.
Smarting from the pain of Tuesday’s 3-1 loss at home to Hearts, some Leith fans have found it difficult to hold back, criticising a team and manager who have served up more cheer than disappointment since the winter break.
The gloomy response to one match, albeit an important derby, clearly irritates manager Jack Ross but, insisting that he and the squad are also hurting, he says their focus has not shifted from the chase for third place and claiming a place in Europe for next term.
Faced with the over-the-top proclamations on forums and social media, Jack was quick to shut down the idea that some of the players who lost to Hearts are not up to the job.
He said: “It’s not true, is it? So I’m not going to say any more than that because it’s not true. If we had lost ten games in a row, fine. But it’s not true, so there’s no other answer to that.
“I think we’ve got to be careful of speaking about negativity after one result.
“I think it’s very indicative of the world we live in now, particularly football. Opinion changes so dramatically in such a short period of time.
“It’sastrangethingnowadays and that’s why you have try to retain a clarity of thought on how you view things because if you get caught up in that noise it affects decision making.
“It’s not playing down the soreness of the game, I’m at pains to point that out.
“Just because you behave or speak in a certain way doesn’t mean it hurts any less, it is about trying to see the bigger picture, it’s about a 38 league game season and making sure we finish as high up the league as we can. At the moment we have given ourselves a chance of having an okay league season, and we have a chance to pick up three points on Saturday and make up for the three points we obviously lost on Tuesday.”
Prior to their midweek loss, the Easter Road side had been closing in Livingston, Aberdeen and Motherwell, in the sprint towards the finish line.
Slow starters, they worked their way up the league and have then moved within reasonable striking distance of the teams above them, losing only twice since the turn of the year.
The hope within the club is that they have timed their run perfectly. But first, Hibs need to bounce back from the derby disappointment.
Jack added: “It probably highlights what I’ve been saying about negativity. We have been good, not just in terms of performances but [the players’] mindset has had to be good because we were just off the bottom of the table, picking up a point a game which if you average it out over the season, 38 points from 38 games you are probably bang in trouble.
“We are up to near a point and a half or just under it so the mindset to get into that position and put together that run has been good.”
Having studied the game, watching it back time and again, Jack knows it wasn’t Hibs’ best display but he also considers it a blip when taken in context of their recent form.
He said: “There were, bits we could have done better and it is sore, but we are all right, we are better than all right. We have a good squad, a good mentality and the opportunity to bounce back with three points on Saturday.”
“It’s not playing down the soreness of the game. Just because you behave or speak in a certain way doesn’t mean it hurts any less”
JACK ROSS