Hibs boss enjoyed win . . for half an hour

Pat FENLON has revealed he allowed himself to savour his first SPL win as Hibs manager for all of 30 minutes.

The Irishman was delighted to see his side widen the gap between themselves and basement outfit Dunfermline to four points with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at East End Park.

It was Fenlon’s first in the league since taking over from Colin Calderwood and the Edinburgh club’s first SPL triumph in ten matches as they made it back-to-back wins for the first time this season following their defeat of Cowdenbeath in the William Hill Scottish Cup the previous week.

But while he gave his players a day off following Ian Murray’s darts day – part of the club skipper’s testimonial year – Fenlon’s celebrations had long since ended as he turned his attention to the visit of St Johnstone on Saturday.

He said: “The players deserved a bit of a break, the chance to enjoy themselves. They’ve been under pressure, these were two massive games and they have responded and won them both.

“But as a manager it’s difficult to relax, you enjoy the performance but then you get home and get your head round the St Johnstone game. You probably enjoy the result for 30 or 45 minutes but then you start thinking about the next one.”

Fenlon’s squad reported back to begin preparing for the visit of the Saints today with the manager expecting spirits to have soared. He said: “We are delighted with two wins on the spin, they’ve taken us into the next round of the cup and lifted us a bit up the league. It’s great for the players and supporters, it gives that wee bit of confidence and players belief that they can go and get points.”

While delighted with the goals from Leigh Griffiths and Garry O’Connor, Fenlon heaped praise on midfield powerhouse Isaiah Osbourne who returned to action against the Pars after five weeks out with an abductor muscle problem.

He said: “Ozzy was fantastic when you think he had only trained twice in the previous five weeks, last Thursday and Friday. We spoke to him about playing and he was definitely up for it.

“He took a little while to get his second wind but in the second half he was driving us one, he made some great runs and had a fantastic strike at goal. He’s a good player and once we get him fully fit he will be a great addition for us.”