LENNON SAYS HIBS HAVE ‘HIT A PLATEAU’
Manager admits it is taking time to rebuild side after summer transfers
Frustrated Easter Road manager admits that loss of key players in the summer is starting to impact on club
KILMARNOCK
V HIBERNIAN
Neil Lennon fears Hibernian have reached a plateau following their recent progress.
Hibs have gone five matches without victory and sit in seventh place in the Premiership ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Kilmarnock.
The frustrating period comes after Hibs had enjoyed another promising start to the season. Lennon attributed the run to injuries and a dip in form and confidence but he also suspects that the summer departures of the likes of John Mcginn, Scott Allan and Dylan Mcgeouch are catching up on his team.
“We’re not a million miles away but there’s no doubt the changes that were made over the summer, we lost some really good players who were very difficult to replace,” Lennon said.
“We have just got to work through it, and we are. We have analysed it but you don’t want the players to over-think things. They have got to be free and I will take the responsibility off them, but when the game comes around they have got to take responsibility.
“There’s no issues, there’s no fall-outs, it’s just a phase for a month or so that’s not been like us over the past two or three years. While it’s difficult to take, it’s the reality and you have to accept it.
“It’s impossible [to keep improving when you lose players]. If you took [Scott] Brown, [Olivier] Ntcham and [Tom] Rogic out of the Celtic team, would they be as good?
“We had a really good crop of players last year but we knew they would move on. That’s just the reality. So we have to knuckle down, enjoy what we are doing, accept the challenge. And people need to show a bit of patience at times because it’s not always rosy in the garden.”
Lennon admitted Hibs might have hit a “glass ceiling”. He added: “How do you replace John Mcginn? We don’t have the finances to do that. You have to bring other players on, like [Stevie] Mallan, and develop them. And, in the meantime, try and keep performances and results the right way.
“It’s frustrating because we have hit a plateau, there is no question of that, and that was always going to happen because the rise of the club over the past couple of years has been very much an upward spiral.
“However, we still have got some quality players here, international players, entertaining players, young players. They are a good bunch but they are still relatively inexperienced. I think we miss some inspirational players and we are looking to find some new ones. So it’s time for them to step up and create their own legend at the club.”
History suggests Hibs should befavouritestodaybutkilmarnock manager Steve Clarke is determined to break his duck against the Edinburgh club.
His side have squared up to Lennon’s team five times since Clarke was appointed 13 months ago but have yet to come out on top. His first showdown with Hibs ended in a 3-0 reverse at home. The teams then fought out two score draws before April’s 5-3 thriller at Easter Road.
It was another high-scoring affair when Killie at Easter Road in September but the capital club emerged with the win after Florian Kamberi’s late penalty secured a 3-2 win.
“Hibs are good opposition,” Clarke said. “I know they are not in the best run right now but they are always dangerous. We’ve had some great games against them but we haven’t come out on the winning side yet in my time here. How are we looking to put that right this time? By beating them!”