No holiday for Hibs as Lenny targets fitness

NEIL LENNON has vowed to work his Hibs squad hard during their Dubai training camp as he seeks to improve players’ fitness levels for an assault on the top half of the Premiership.

The Easter Road outfit went into the winter break in eighth place in the table following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to city rivals Hearts.

The time off appears to have come at a good time for the capital outfit, who were without seven first-team stars for the Edinburgh derby through injury and international commitments.

And, after criticising an SPFL schedule that forced his team to play eight games in the space of four weeks in December, Lennon is looking to make the most of his squad’s trip to the UAE.

He said: “I think [the winter break] is a good thing, otherwise we wouldn’t have had the amount of games we’ve had to play in December. It’s been a quarter of the season. It’s ridiculous.

“We went through a phase where we played maybe two or three in a month, and then we’ve had to play eight in a month, and it’s a big ask.

“We’ve done OK. We’ve lost two but we were unbeaten in six going into the derby, but we were just a little bit short, unfortunately.

“There will be a lot of hard work involved.

I want players fitter.”

With sixth-place St Johnstone currently five points ahead, with a game in hand, and Kilmarnock in third 12 points in front, the challenge remains huge.

But, with Lennon optimistic of making changes to his squad over the next month, he is hopeful of an improved showing. He added: “We’re not in the greatest position but there’s a long way to go.”