Lee Johnson claims Hibs aren't out of tie despite Andorra loss as new striker linked to club

While admitting that he is “majorly disappointed” with the way his men opened their European campaign, Hibs manager Lee Johnson insists that the club cannot allow negativity to seep in.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson believes his players can turn the tie around at Easter Road.

Losing out 2-1 to Andorran side Inter Club d’Escaldes in the first leg of their Europa Conference League second round qualifier, Johnson was annoyed with a number of his players who were found lacking, particularly in the first half, but asked the fans to stick with the team who he believes will turn things around at Easter Road next week.

"I’ve always been honest and genuine with the fans,” said Johnson. “I’ll never sugarcoat it: we weren’t good enough. But we’re not out of the tie and that’s why we need everybody even more for the second leg to give us this boost. Within ten minutes of that game we could turn it on its head and that’s the attitude we need to take.”

By then they will have Will Fish back to help bolster a shaky defence, while Martin Boyle could get the nod. The club are also reportedly close to enlisting further strike options, with Dutch media reporting interest in Roda FC forward Dylan Vente.

“You have to give the Andorrans credit, they worked extremely hard and there were far too many unforced errors from us,” continued Johnson.

“I was really disappointed with some individuals on the day and we have to be better, quite simply. We took a bit of stick and that was fair. Second half we were much better and I made the substitutions and I thought we had crosses, shots, opportunities to potentially go in and win the game but the second goal against us was an absolute suckerpunch.”

That came after Lewis Stevenson allowed a long ball upfield to go over him, but that misery was compounded when David Marshall then proved unable to deal with the initial shot, gifting Jean Luc Assoubra a tap-in.

“It was a poor couple of errors that a couple of senior players will hold their hands up to,” said Johnson. “But Joe Newell’s goal was ever so important for us because it’s now a completely different game going back to Easter Road with the big, wide pitch and the fans behind us. We can stretch the game out a lot more and we need that space to execute things the way we should have done but didn't do here.”

Newell’s introduction at the start of the second half helped lift Hibs’ energy levels and while trailing 2-0 looked ominous ahead of the second leg, his 90th-minute free-kick reduced the deficit.

“I’m super disappointed but the word embarrassing feels strong considering the tie isn’t over,” said Johnson. “We don’t have a given right to beat anybody unless we’re at it.

“Individuals have to hold their hands up and be responsible. But what we don’t need is the tension and the tightness of the negativity to seep into the players’ performances. The fans have got to maintain belief. We can get a good first half at home and then turn the tie around.”