George Francomb believes Hibs will prove to be above Pars

AFTER months of uncertainty, Hibernian may now be only days away from the security of knowing they are safe from relegation. Their 2-1 win over Aberdeen on Wednesday night combined with Dunfermline’s goal-less draw at Inverness puts them five points clear of the Fife club, who they face at Easter Road on Monday.

A point in that game will be enough to confirm Hibs’ SPL status but the squad are taking nothing for granted. While they celebrated at full-time at Pittodrie, that was because of the three points, not because they thought the fight had been won.

“Of course we didn’t think it was finished,” George Francomb said yesterday. “It was obviously a great result and it has taken us five points clear of Dunfermline.

“If Inverness had done us the favour of beating them then it would have been more or less over. We just have to be professional going into Monday’s game. It’s still a massive game we can’t afford to lose. We have to prepare like it’s a cup final and I’m sure we will be fine.”

After two 1-0 defeats in a row, Hibs got off the mark quickly against Aberdeen, going ahead through a Mark Reynolds own goal and then doubling their lead through a Sean O’Hanlon header after little more than quarter of an hour had been played. They looked nervous at times in the second half after Scott Vernon pulled a goal back for the home team, but they looked as likely to score a third as Aberdeen did to equalise and the number of chances created was another encouraging sign, according to Francomb.

“We got the early lead, started really well and we had a good first half,” he went on. “Even in the second half, I could have finished to put us 3-0 up.

“Once they got that goal back it was sort of backs against the wall. We still had a couple of chances, but we just dug deep and it was a great effort from the lads.

“A lot of people have been writing us off during the course of the season saying we’ve not got steel, but I think against Aberdeen we showed that. Big Sean hadn’t played for a while and he came in and was man of the match for me.

“The gaffer was feeding us the message that, if we keep playing, the breaks will come. We would come in after two narrow defeats and we would be down, but the gaffer came in and said: ‘You can’t lose belief.’ He didn’t come in and start having a go at us. Thankfully those breaks did happen for us at Aberdeen.

“Maybe a few managers would have changed the team a bit after the loss to St Mirren, but the gaffer identified we were the much better team in that game and it didn’t fall for us on the day. He said we’ve got to keep believing, he stuck with the team and sometimes that’s what it comes down to, you have to believe what you’re doing is right.

“The funny thing is that, when it has come to the big pressure games, we have seemed to have pulled it off. But, obviously, when we’ve pulled away a little bit from Dunfermline that’s when we’ve let it slip and maybe become complacent. I suppose it comes across that we like doing it the hard way. We’re in the driving seat and as long as we do our job right on Monday, we’ll be fine.”

The 20-year-old Londoner admitted that, when he joined Hibs on loan from Norwich at the turn of the year, he had not expected the club to be embroiled in a relegation battle for quite so long. He made his debut in Hibs’ 3-2 victory at East End Park, a result which might have spelled the end of Dunfermline’s hopes of staying in the top flight. Instead, they fought back – but although Francomb credits them with the courage to do that, he still thinks his own team will prevail on Monday.

“I didn’t think I would be in a relegation battle come the end of the season. When I first came it was before the Dunfermline game and I think we were only one point ahead of them. It was really tight then and we recently got it to seven points, but they have obviously done really well recently and got it back.

“It’s going to the wire, but I think come Monday night we will prepare well enough and get the result. We’ve got confidence from last time we played them when we got a result. With the last few games, the way we’ve been playing, if we play like that then hopefully we can do it.”

Francomb would rather Hibs had reached safety some time ago, but he is making a virtue out of necessity and recognising that the relegation battle is invaluable experience for him. The forthcoming Scottish Cup final against Hearts, at Hampden a fortnight on Saturday, also comes into the same category for the right-back-cum-midfielder.

“It’s easy to go to a team that’s mid-table in whatever league. Hibs’ position didn’t faze me: I was ready to come down and fight for the cause. In the long run it could benefit me.”

That game may also be Francomb’s last for Hibs, as, at present, he is due to return to Norwich.

And, given Hibs’ last league match is at Inverness, Monday night’s game could be Francomb’s last at home.

“I’m not sure yet if it could be my last game at Easter Road,” he said. “I’m just concentrating on the last three games of this season. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next season.”