Johnson warns ‘revolution’ looming at Easter Road

Lee Johnson spent 11min 14sec explaining to the media under the Tynecastle stand what he faces as he bids to turn Hibs into a club challenging in the higher echelons of the cinch Scottish Premiership.

He bemoaned the lack of quality in the Easter Road playing staff, a lack of ability or bottle to make the right on-field decisions and the need to balance the clubs books by shifting players out and bringing more quality in.

And the straight-talking 41-year-old said he is “sick and tired” of mediocrity and promised a “revolution” not “evolution”.

The Newmarket-born coach’s words will not make it easy ready for some players, but Hibs have lost nine of their last 11 games and the former Hearts squad member stressed: “We need people out. They are as important as the inns. If I am honest. I am at a place where I have to come out swinging but decisions have not been good enough and they need to be better.

“Desperate to do well for the fans and the club and we are not a million miles off, one or two or three good players, five, six, seven, ten out. I would rather bump up the young players, they are not quite ready yet, but we do have some quality players in there. That will serve us well in 18 months to two years time.”

Senior players have, he said, to step-up and he said: “We can’t keep being average at best. It is just not good enough and everybody needs to tell themselves the home truths. We are in Edinburgh, there are two big clubs in Edinburgh, it feels like a big club because of the media, but you need to act like a big player in a big club and have that bottle to go and produce, not just in training but in games.”

He said the squad works hard. They put in the physical element, their body fats are down and their fitness is up, better than it has ever been, but they can’t go out on the pitch and run around.

“(Kyle ) Magennis, we are chasing fitness, McGheady we are chasing fitness, Nisbet we are chasing fitness, they are among our quality players who can make a difference, who can tidy the ball up and put their foot on the ball.

“But the fit players at the moment have not got that level of football IQ or the ability, that is frustrating. It is not the worst squad in the world and we are not a bad team. I have not lost belief in the ones I believe in, but we need to add some more quality and better quality and work our budget better. Average squad players, there are too many, I would rather get rid of ten and sign one of high quality.”

Johnson says he turns up every day and the staff give their all and he added: “There are good people at the football club and it is hurting. It is not easy. If a club is under-performing the league table would show that, effectively you are over-paying for those players. We have to make sure we are not over-paying players.”

He stressed the need to cut players and added: “If they were quality somebody would take them very quickly., if would be like a fire sale.”

He argued that the players need to take some responsibility having slipped down the table into eighth position and he said there were good players in there (Joe) Newall was good today, he tried his best, (Aiden) McGeady showed class when he came on, but we have just got to do more and part of that is a revolution, not just an evolution.

One player with quality or event two players could flips the balance to being better and the boss confirmed he has great communication with the club’s owners, the Gordon family.

He added: “It is a brilliant investment in my opinion, the football club. We have to get so many structures right. You have got good people there and that’s why I want to fight, and continue to fight, for what I believe is a really good cause and we are not a million miles away, but we need to get so much more right early to drive the club forward quickly.”

Reflecting on the Edinburgh Derby, which Hearts won 3-0 on Monday at Tynecastle, the manager said that in the first-half is men were way below par and said: “Mediocre is too high a word for it, they didn’t have gratvitas in the game. To be honest I am sick to death of the mediocrity.

“We will need to move in January, we need to move players out. This is a wonderful club with a load of potential, a great fan base, good training ground and  it deserves more.

“We have to make way better decisions all over the place and (Monday) showed exactly, in my opinion, where we are. At 2-0 down we start playing. You have got to be the best player on the pitch at 0-0.

“There is no doubt that there were key moments in the game. Were there loads in the game? No. They were more clinical than we were and, if you look at our actual stats of shots and crosses, we are right up there.

“The most important action is the final action and the whole season we have not been nowhere near good enough. You have to take those moments at key times and you. Then at least have the opportunity to save the game, Kyle’s (Magennis) one, a fantastic save, and he has got to score unfortunately.

“Elio (Youan) looks dangerous consistently, and he has been consistent in the last few games, but there not enough quality.

“We have made mistakes and we have to be open and honest. We needed to win that game. I was buzzing coming into the game (at Tynecastle), what an opportunity to turn any negative into a positive and a that sets our season up.

“We started the game, first five minutes, quite well, had opportunities to put the ball in the box and we turned back, that is just a fear or like I say, not having the gravitas or the bottle.

“We were all right at 2-0 down and you turned up at half-time and look at the game and you think Hibs are not a bad side. What’s the score? 2-0 down. How did that happen?” And Johnson added: ” I get frustrated because I care about it. The staff give their all. There are good people at the football club. The fans deserve better than they saw, particularly during that first-half.”

He added: “I am watching the fans there, what an atmosphere that was, particularly after that minute for Pele and then that roar goes up. We needed to send them home absolutely buzzing and we didn’t do that.

“Hearts are a good side but they are get-attable, and in my opinion we did not produce anywhere near enough.”

Hibs, he said, improved in the second-half but players have to accept we are here to win football matches, not here to molly coddle people it is not a charity, and he said Hibs are a top club and they can’t make the mistakes that have been made.

“You could say I was at fault at team selection, and that would be a fair question, but the context behind of what we have just now is important and we did have a couple of injures going into the game.

“We are not a squad full of 100 per cent fit players. We have to make 45 minute decisions not 96 minute decisions. That will change as the months go on.”