The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Hibs full of confidence despite late setbacks
Hibernian head coach Jack Ross feels his side will be ready to kick on physically and emotionally for ton igh t ’s v is i t o f St Johnstone despite their late blow against Celtic.
Hibs led by two goals with 11 minutes left against the champions but were forced to settle for a point after twice failing to clear their lines.
Ho w e v e r, Ross has encouraged his players to gain confidence from their overall display.
“Once that immediate emotion of disappointment of conceding so late subsides, they do take a step back and appreciate the good things they did within the game,” he said.
“That’s not discounting the disappointment at not winning the game. But we stressed the importance of them not dwelling on it.
“And, since they have been back in on Sunday and Monday, there is more evidence that they feel confident given how they played for large parts of the game.
“If we take the two games against the Old Firm at Easter Road in isolation, we have drawn both games 2-2.
“Because we come from behind against Rangers, there’s a different feeling
after the game than Saturday. But you only earn one point in each of the games, the reward is exactly the same.
“There were large parts of the game which were encouraging for us , particularly when we look at the two performances and results against Celtic.
“To learn from the first one and then play well and take something from the second game shows there is improvement.”
Ross is also confident that his players will have the required energy levels
to face a Saints team unbeaten in eight matches.
“Although we spent more time without the ball than with it, and sometimes that points to you having to do more work, we also looked quite compact,” he said. “So in some areas of the pitch we maybe did less running than normal.
Hibernian hope to have Christian Doidge back for tonight’s game.
The striker trained yesterday after missing the draw with Celtic with an ankle injury, and Hibs will assess any reaction.