Michael Nelson has hit back at fans’ suggestions that the players have thrown in the towel and are just going through the motions as they wait for the end of a disappointing season.
The big defender told Hibernian TV: “The fans are obviously disappointed as we haven’t been picking up as many points as we probably should be but as far as throwing the towel in, none of the boys has certainly done that.
“We were pushing right to the end on Saturday at Partick and that’s why we conceded the third goal. We had four corners on a row trying to put the pressure on to get the equaliser so there’s no question of throwing in the towel.
“Saturday’s defeat was frustrating especially after we had the lion’s share of the first half conceding a late goal to go in one nil down after we should have gone in at least a goal up.
“We came back out and conceded another one from a set piece which as a defender you hate conceding goals like that. We managed to get back in the game and then they got us on the break late on as we had a lot of bodies forward trying to get the equaliser.
Hibs travel to Perth to play St Johnstone on Saturday, knowing that a defeat will end any lingering hopes of a top six finish, and Nelson is determined to grab the three points to keep the race ongoing.
He continued: “We have spoken about last Saturday and the boys are looking forward to getting back in action this week trying to get back on track and getting a win to put pressure onto St Johnstone.
“We’ve been working hard on the training pitch this week and the boys look sharp in training and hopefully we can carry that into the game on Saturday against St Johnstone.
“We have good memories of the last time we went to Perth. We showed great character going one-nil down and coming back to win 2-1. It was a good performance on the day. Ross County got a good result there at the weekend so they are beatable at their place as we have shown so we have to go up there and repeat what we did earlier in the season.
“There is no better way to get confidence than to get a win under your belt even of the performance isn’t great as long as you get a win. It builds confidence. You’d rather play badly and win than play well and lose.”
Photo by John Preece
http://www.photoboxgallery.com/jlp-photography
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
