Frustrated that they could not get the victory their play merited against Aberdeen, the 0-0 draw leaves the Leith men six points adrift of the Pittodrie side in the Premiership, who are currently tucked in behind Celtic and Rangers and, with three games left, remain the favourites to bag the prize of guaranteed European group stage football next season should Celtic beat Inverness in next month’s Scottish Cup final.

“It’s definitely a missed opportunity as we only got the one point,” said Newell. “Even if we don’t get third, it’s still a good sign going into next year. The style of play, the players we’ve got, and the culture at the club … everything is going in the right direction.

“It has been very up and down this year, and it’s taken a long time. I’m not saying we’re the finished article yet and there will be lots of changes in the summer but we’re happy with the way we’re playing. We want to finish as high as we can. There are three games left, two of them at home and they’ll be massive occasions with the fans there in their numbers and hopefully we can put a show on for them and then go to Tynecastle [on the final day] with hope of finishing as high as we can. That’s the aim, really.

Hibs midfielder Joe Newell, left, and manager Lee Johnson after the draw with Aberdeen.

“First, we’re playing Rangers, at home, on Sunday, in front of the TV cameras and we’ll back ourselves 100 per cent. We’ve had some good performances against them in the last few years so that’s one we’ll all be well up for. After a good few performances we’ll be in full confidence.”

It’s been a difficult season, where the squad has been dogged by injuries and the inability to get into a solid rhythm, but there are signs that the hard work behind the scenes is beginning to pay off as the Easter Road side, who finished eighth last term, remain in the hunt for third or fourth place. And, finishing the season on a high can only be good for the new campaign, insists midfielder Newell.

“There are a lot of positives to playing this well at this stage of the season,” said Newell. “We’ve had a rollercoaster of a year haven’t we, in terms of results, performances, drama. A lot has gone on this year and we might have left it too late - who knows? We’ll see at the end of the season but it’s good and positive that everyone is seeing the team we want to be in terms of the way we play. In the last four games I think we’ve shown that we’re a good side and we want to be the third-best team in the country.

“It’s going to be difficult to catch Aberdeen – we’ve got the Old Firm and Hearts away but all we’re in control of is our own performances and as of late I think they’ve been very good and in my eyes we’re in a good place at the moment. If we’ve left it too late then so be it but there are definitely signs that we’ll be up there next year."

Hibs take positives from Aberdeen draw despite 'definitely a missed opportunity'