Tim Clancy admits Hibs must atone for ‘terrible performance’

HIBERNIAN defender Tim Clancy knows that he and his team-mates owe their supporters a performance at Celtic Park today following their cup exit against Queen of the South.

Hibs were beaten 2-0 in Dumfries in the second round of the Scottish Communities League Cup and were outplayed by their Irn-Bru Second Division opponents.

Manager Pat Fenlon will restore captain James McPake to the team that faces the Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions after making four changes for the cup tie, and the players know a response is needed.

Clancy said: “We have got to bounce back from Tuesday. It was a terrible performance. There is not much we can do about it now but we have to learn from it. It’s hard to put your finger on it. I don’t think anyone performed.

“If one or two people have an off day, other players can pull them out of it, but you can’t have so many not performing. It was a wake-up call that you can’t go into any game below 100 per cent.”

While Hibs had a week to forget, Celtic were enjoying one of their best moments in recent years as they beat Helsingborgs to set up Champions League group encounters with Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow.

But Hibs had been showing signs of improvement in the SPL with a draw against Hearts, followed by consecutive wins over St Mirren and St Johnstone.

And Clancy is determined that they do themselves justice at Parkhead.

The former Motherwell and Kilmarnock player said: “This is a massive game and we have all got to be at it, and we certainly owe the fans. The league form has shown we are hopefully capable of getting a result.

“Every team that goes to Celtic Park are the underdogs and rightly so because they have got very talented players and have just qualified for the Champions League.

“We have just got to go there and concentrate on our own game. It’s a great arena to play football.”