Hibs’ Head Coach Jack Ross felt his players did well to stay in the game against champions Celtic at Parkhead yesterday and is now looking forward to the visit of Rangers on Friday night although goalkeeper Ofir Marciano is a doubt.

Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Hibernian v Kilmarnock. Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 30/11/2019. Pic shows: Hibs Manager, Jack Ross, consoles players after his side surrender a 2 goal lead to Kilmarnock at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs

Martin Boyle was unlucky not to give Hibs an early lead before the hosts found their form and deservedly won the game with goals either side of the break.

The result leaves Hibs in sixth place with games against second place Rangers and Hearts coming up on the horizon.

Speaking after the final whistle, Ross said: “I felt Celtic played well which meant we had to play well just to stay in the game. We did that. We were not outstanding, but we did well enough to remain in it for large parts.

 “These are the fine margins. Undoubtedly you have to make the most of every opportunity you get and we maybe didn’t do that as well as we’d normally do.

“We knew coming into these two fixtures (against Celtic and Rangers) how big a challenge they would be. Both teams have been relentless this season, so consistent.

“Not only are they getting good results. They are playing well.

 “Friday is a different dynamic as we are playing at home. If we can take the pluses from this and do certain elements of the game better, we’ve got a strong belief we can win.

“By and large, over the past five or six games, we’ve seen a lot more good things than bad.

Ofir Marciano was taken off at half-time a calf injury and was replaced by Chris Maxwell. The extent of the injury will be assessed today.

He continued: “It worsened at half-time and we didn’t want to take any chances in terms of how that would affect him.

“We will assess it tomorrow morning and see how he is.”

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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.