Crunch time looms large, admits Ross

JACK ROSS admits Hibs’ season is at a crossroads — and it’s time for the players to decide their path with a massive month ahead.

Succumbing to a third straight defeat, and far too easily against an admittedly in-form Livingston, the Easter Road manager struggled to hide his disappointment, particularly at their defensive frailties.

But with a Betfred Cup semi against St Johnstone and both sides of the Old Firm to play in the coming weeks, Ross admitted: ‘It is a bit of a key moment for us. We have had a couple of them this season, when we have had to step back and ask ourselves where we want to go and, in the main, we have responded well.

‘This is another of those moments for us. Do we want the season to drift or do we want to achieve what we set out to do this season. I have a lot of faith in the group but they know that we were a long way short of where we needed to be today.

‘We didn’t do all aspects of the game well enough. We didn’t defend well and we weren’t creative enough in what we did going forward.

‘We’ve had two disappointing results but this performance was some way south of midweek.’

Ross, however, insists there will be no over-reaction to such a disappointing spell, either in the dugout or in the transfer market.

‘It’s not panic stations,’ he said, ‘because in the main we have had a good season and the players have done a lot of good things.

‘But it is an acute reminder to them if they don’t do the basics properly, it’s not easy to get results.’