Captain Paul Hanlon reveals biggest worry about Hibs' recent run of defeats and shines a light on dressing room exchanges

Offered an opportunity to wriggle out of the tight spot he had found himself in after Hibs tagged another disappointing result onto their losing run, captain Paul Hanlon was having none of it.

Asked by one observer if maybe things weren’t as dark as others were suggesting, given the calibre of opposition dishing out their four recent defeats, the Easter Road stalwart was, probably wisely, in no mood to try papering over the cracks.

Having just emerged from a dressing room full of “heated players” who are “determined to put things right”, there was no appetite for excuses.

“It is the manner of the performances,” said the defender, explaining why few associated with the club could take comfort in the fact the back to back losses were to Rangers, Dundee United, Aberdeen and Celtic. “No matter who we were playing, if we are performing like that we are not going to win games. It is a tight league this year and every game is competitive so we have to look at ourselves and our performances and it is up to us to give the gaffer a bit back because we are not doing enough for him at the minute.”

Hibs captain Paul Hanlon says the players have to find a way to win again. Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group

Two goals for and nine against in that quartet of matches tells its own tale of deficiencies in defence and attack and as they prepare to head up to Dingwall for a game that has taken on huge significance, the onfield leader said that having under-performed it was now up to the players to put things right.

They tried to do that against Celtic on Wednesday, producing a much-improved second half performance but by then they had left themselves with too much to do.

With a clean slate, against a team that has been struggling at the foot of the table but bared their teeth with a 5-0 thumping of Dundee in midweek, Hanlon’s hope is they can replicate that enhanced form from the very start on Saturday.

“After the game [against Celtic] and at half-time we were all questioning each other and I would be worried if we weren’t. There were a lot of heated players and players who are determined to put things right.

“But, after the game there was that kind of belief that if we perform like we mostly did in that second half, then the results will change. We are under a bit of pressure just now and it is up to us to put things right.

“We have just got to look at ourselves. They will be full of confidence after their win but we went up there last year and got a big win that really helped push us towards third and we will be looking to use a win up there to get our season going again.

“It gets to that stage when you lose a few games in a row, you just want to win, any kind of win. We will try to do it in a good way, with a bit of style, but, realistically, all that matters is that we go up there and win. We are desperate to get back out there and the second half performance has given us that feeling of ‘let’s go out on Saturday and do this again’.”

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