Riled Stubbs delivers a few home truths to McKinnon
EASTER ROAD is where dreams go to die. But it needn’t always be the locals who end up suffering night terrors. While Raith Rovers will come barrelling over the Forth intent on turning a famously fickle home crowd against their own team, Ray McKinnon and his players cannot be ignorant of the fact that Hibs’ home record this season is formidable.
Two defeats in all competitions over the course of the campaign — against Rangers in the Petrofac Cup and Morton in the league — hardly speaks to the darkest fears of those who suspect Alan Stubbs and his men are on the brink of blowing their promotion chances.
Clearly riled by McKinnon’s unflattering psycho-analysis job on him following the first leg of the Premiership play-off quarter-final at Stark’s Park on Wednesday, Stubbs is aware that his opposite number still considers Hibs to be vulnerable at home.
As he asked fans to bring their ‘A game’ to today’s return match in Leith, with their team trailing 1-0, the manager was clearly looking to make a point.
‘our home form has been very good all season,’ declared Stubbs. ‘Tomorrow, if Ray is supposedly talking about Easter Road, then let’s show him how difficult a place it is.
‘People talk about coming here, frustrate the team and ensure that seeps into the crowd, and how that can have a negative effect. Let me flip that on its head.
‘What about the positive effect when our fans are really behind the team, as they have been all season, and make it a hostile, intimidating place. Let’s see the opposite side, let’s see how the opposition deals with that.’
Insisting that Hibs fans would not rise to McKinnon’s bait, Stubbs added: ‘The supporters are not soft, especially the fans at Easter Road. I have been involved in some fantastic games this season where the crowd has been unbelievable.
‘Tomorrow, if the fans bring their “A game” — as well as the team — then let’s show the opposition how difficult a place it can be.
‘We’ve done it on a lot of occasions this season. More often than not in the big games we have risen to the challenge. This comes into that category.’
Raith will defend their lead with doggedness, sitting in and looking to hit on the break. The problem for them is if Hibs get enough ball, they can run even the fittest opposition into the ground.
‘It’s Ok moving teams about but, when that right moment appears, you must be able to find it,’ added Stubbs.
‘The thing that comforts me is I have players who are not just able to find it, they are able to see it first. If you can’t see it, you can’t find it. It’s about seeing it quickly enough. I trust the players 100 per cent. They are more than capable of coming through this tie.’
That faith in his players, none of whom looked overly burdened by anxiety at their training ground yesterday, will be heartening for Hibs fans who see being 1-0 down midway through a tie with Raith Rovers — a club with one 10th the spending power and one millionth the supporter expectations of their opponents — as something approaching an emergency.
What they need now, in truth, is a hero. Maybe it will be Conrad Logan, the giant goalkeeper who looks like a fair-haired Buzz Lightyear. Maybe John McGinn will find gaps in the Raith defence that even Ant Man could not have spotted. defender darren McGregor, the Leith Athletic graduate who took a roundabout route to the big team, was so chilled out on Thursday he even squeezed in a visit to see the latest Captain
America flick. ‘We’re in a situation where we can still get promoted, we’ve been in a national cup final — albeit it never ended the way we wanted — and we’re in another one,’ he said, by way of a defence to accusations of underachievement.
‘There are two sides to the coin. I empathise with the fans who are looking at it from the negative perspective that we’ve lost a cup final and we’re 1-0 down to Raith in the play-offs.
‘But, as a player, you need to say: “We’re still right in the tie and we have a right good end of the season to look forward to”. All we can do is perform to the best of our ability. If we do, we’re good enough to win.’
Providing testimony on how laid back he feels, McGregor added: ‘I went to the cinema on Thursday night. I’ve seen Eddie The Eagle. It’s an inspirational story, even if only five per cent of the film was true. I also saw Captain America and that was decent as well.’
Considering some of the painful scenes they have witnessed in recent years, there is a brand of Hibs fan who would argue today’s showing should come with a restricted rating.