Hibs’ Head Coach Jack Ross said that it was not a night for lambasting the players who in the main have been really good this season despite their 2-0 home defeat to Ross County.
Hibs started off well but fell behind to a long range effort from Harry Paton midway through the first-half then as they were pressing forward looking for an equaliser, former player Oli Shaw sealed the victory for John Hughes’ men.
Ross accepted that the whole team fell below their normally high standard but is confident they will respond in the correct manner when Livingston visit the capital on Saturday.
After the final whistle Ross told Hibs TV: “It sounds very simple, we just didn’t play well enough tonight. Individually almost all the players on the pitch were below the level they are normally at and have been at in the main and subsequently as a team we fell short of where we need to be at.
“It’s a poor night for us in terms of where we are normally at, in terms of our standards and we have to accept any criticism. We’ve taken a lot of deserved plaudits this season but tonight we were a long way short of the levels we have normally been at.
“It’s a night for not getting too carried away for lambasting the players who in the main have been really good this season. We don’t want them to lose any faith and trust in what they do well and have done well.
“It’s a little reminder of the strength and mindset you have to have to bang out consistent performances and we were a bit off it in terms of how close we got to the opposition, our energy levels, out creative spark and how ruthless we were when opportunities came our way.
“It was a perfect storm in terms of us not being at our best.
“We will have bumps through the season. We’ve not had many this season and when we have had them we have responded well and the key thing now is how we react on Saturday.
“Most often when players have disappointments they want to get back into action as quickly as possible and this is a quick turn around for them and I’m pleased that we have that because I think we have a group of players who as I said have been very good for me.
“They are honest about their work and they are disappointed in there because they know we weren’t good enough tonight as a group but I have an enormous amount of faith in them and I believe they will respond at the weekend and get back to the levels they have been at in the main this season.”
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.
