Lennon: Lack of character to blame for draw
Neil Lennon last night vowed to get Hibs believing again.
The Easter Road side threw away a two-goal lead yesterday as basement boys Dundee roared back to claim a draw.
Hibs have now gone five games without a win. But Lennon insists he will do the necessary work to get his players back to their best. “It’s symptomatic of the spell we’re going through at the minute,” he said of his side’s showing against Dundee. “We don’t put teams away.
“We’ve conceded two poor goals through switching off – and some senior players are not playing at the level they could be.
“My strikers aren’t functioning at the minute, either. “The positives are we’ve broken the run of not scoring goals and we’ve actually gained a place today – and closed the gap on the teams above us.
“It feels like two points dropped, but you’ve got to give Dundee credit. “They’ve made us change our shape 10 minutes into the second half because we were abject, feeling sorry for ourselves and lacking character.
“After the change of shape, we were a lot better.
“But we’re not taking our chances, we’re not producing the final ball, and we’re not believing in ourselves. It’s a spell I have to manage – and I will.”
At 2-0 up after half-an-hour, Lennon’s side looked completely comfortable.
Yet they crumbled – and conceded two goals in two minutes either side of the break.
In the aftermath, they became sloppy, with Dundee in the ascendency for much of the second half.
For Lennon, his side’s performance showed they are missing a trait they once had no trouble whatsoever exhibiting – mental strength.
“We should have been on course for a win,” he continued.
“Even a minute before the break, just don’t concede, go in 2-0, but again we switch off, get complacent.
“I don’t know if the players thought it was easy or not, but the boy Ralph has come a long way – and Paul hasn’t got across quick enough to stop Kenny Miller from scoring.
“It’s just poor. “Then the psychology of the game changes because Dundee have got a lift.
“It’s a culmination of things, and it’s frustrating, but it’s part of football.
“We need to get back to being strong mentally because that’s what we were good at for a long period of time and we’re just lacking that a bit at the minute.”