St Johnstone 3 - 1 Hibernian: New nadir in Hibernian’s season lets Fenlon see all the failings

HIBERNIAN welcomed Pat Fenlon with a performance which the incoming manager will rate as extremely useful. He can throw away the dvds of matches from earlier in the season. He can save himself the bother of having to analyse hour after hour of X-rated tape.

Everything the Irishman needs to know unfolded in front of him on Saturday as he sat in the directors’ box.

He was right to want as little to do with this assignment as possible ahead of his official first day in the post today.

Poor Billy Brown was the one saddled with responsibility for a new nadir in Hibs’ season. He spent much of the time with his head in his hands as Hibs suffered for a nine-minute spell when they turned a 1-0 lead into a 3-1 beating.

It was, though, instructive as far as Fenlon is concerned. Hibs betrayed their confidence problem and showed how the fight can desert them, even when they get themselves in front.

They also showcased those problems with concentration which allowed St Johnstone to cancel their lead.

“That typified what I have seen from this team even before I came here and when I watched them on telly,” said Brown later. “Fine when the other team is not pushing forward. As soon as the other team push forward and put you under pressure, we collapse. It happened again today.”

Hibs also helpfully proved to Fenlon that they lack the necessary mettle to deal with an admittedly challenging set of circumstances. They were faced with a perfect storm of extreme weather conditions combined with opponents who are riding the crest of a wave and have the stimulus of a new manager in Steve Lomas to impress.

Hibs showed how that does not always lead to high-octane performances.

As Dave Mackay, who scored St Johnstone’s third goal, pointed out: “Nothing was broken and we were in a different situation to Hibs. We were on a great run and the manager [Derek McInnes] got a move on the back of us doing well. It’s different for Hibs because their manager has been sacked because of results.”

Perhaps Hibs have become immune to the jump-start effect that is normally associated with a new manager’s arrival.

Lewis Stevenson summed it up later when he spoke of the constant chopping and changing at Easter Road. Fenlon is Hibs’ ninth manager in ten years and promising players have had their progress interrupted by this far-from-constructive state of affairs.

“It’s hard because I think this is the seventh manager I’ve had in my time at Hibs,” said Stevenson. “And at 23 years old that is not great.

“I don’t think a single player can say they did their best today,” he added.

The only Hibs players who will have slept soundly at the weekend are the ones who had no involvement in this latest defeat, one which denied Brown the opportunity of making a remarkable boast: I was an unbeaten Hibs manager.

The 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock is as good as his reign got, although he did not rule out staying on under Fenlon.

The pair had a chat following the final whistle and even though Fenlon was joined at the game by someone who sounds like he fits the bill as a No 2 – the former Newcastle United player Liam O’Brien, a former assistant of Fenlon’s at Bohemians – Brown still sounded as if there might be a chance he will continue in some capacity.

However, he may also fear that his reputation is being harmed by an association with the failing enterprise that is Hibernian FC. He warned the players at half-time that “their jobs are on the line”.

It has reached the point where they have to take responsibility for the club’s plight.

“Hibs are a big club and shouldn’t be in this position,” said Brown. “But they are because they have not done well enough. At the end of the day, the same players are getting the same results. They have to get their fingers out their backside and start doing something.

“There is a new manager now and we will see what he wants to do and how I would fit in. We will have a wee blether about that and see what happens.”

The Hibs players left the pitch as quickly as possible at the end as the sheets of rain made the experience all the more miserable.

However, St Johnstone had to cope with the same conditions, and in Fran Sandaza they had someone who was prepared to keep on working for the cause.

Some might have been tempted to place the Spaniard in the “doesn’t fancy it” category. He made a mockery of that suggestion and ran himself into the ground. His goal saw the belief visibly drain from Hibs since they had only been ahead for little more than ten minutes, following Richie Towell’s opener after Peter Enckelman had parried a shot from Leigh Griffiths.

The equaliser stemmed from a catastrophic mistake by David Stephens in the middle if defence. His lapse in concentration allowed Sandaza to pinch the ball from under his feet and the striker did well to keep his composure after his original effort had struck a post.

His forward partner, Marcus Haber, who replaced hamstring-strain victim Cillian Sheridan after only eight minutes, then headed St Johnstone in front in first half-injury time.

The Canadian was allowed to rise unchallenged at the back post after Mackay’s hanging cross. In his notebook, Fenlon might have scribbled: “Defence – need a new one”.

Ninety seconds into the second-half and the game was all but over. Mackay struck a free kick into the net off a post and only those turned delirious by the biting cold could have imagined Hibs scoring twice in order to save the game, as Aberdeen managed down the road at Dunfermline.

Fenlon is one of the few of a Hibs persuasion who can consider this an afternoon well spent.