Lee Johnson hoping for happy family homecoming when Hibs host Andorran minnows

Hibs manager Lee Johnson expects a reaction from the team when they face Inter Club d'Escaldes on Thursday.

The cinch Premiership outfit were stunned by a 2-1 defeat by Andorran side Inter d’Escaldes in the first leg of their second qualifying round last week. A widely shared post on social media revealed some travelling Hibs fans angrily berating the players as they came off at the end of the game. Johnson understood the frustrations to a point but is looking for the home support to get behind their side for the return fixture.

“Fans have to be allowed to be fans, they have to wear their heart on their sleeve,” said the Hibs boss, who confirmed Australia striker Martin Boyle will be available after being out for nine months after requiring surgery to repair damage to his cruciate ligament. “I think they love us really. I really do and the feeling is mutual. Sometimes in a big family you have those arguments and discussions and in once sense it was fair game.

“Sometimes it gets a little bit too personal and you may have seen me asking an individual or two to calm down, and that was based on the personal nature of a couple of comments I heard. We are at half-time. We are looking for a massive performance from our team and also our supporters. They all want us to do well, we all want to progress through to the next round and part of our performance is the supporters and we certainly need them.”

Fingers were pointed at 38-year-old goalkeeper David Marshall following his fumble which led to the second goal Hibs lost in last week’s defeat. Johnson has bolstered his options by signing Maksymilian Boruc, 20, from the Polish side Slask Wroclaw on a two-year deal and Ghana international Jojo Wollacott, who signed on a three-year deal from Charlton. The Hibs boss was keeping his selection cards close to his chest as he said: “I have three good goalkeepers and a good one out on loan as well.

“Marsh is an experienced player, of course he has made a mistake but I will be honest my initial instinct was, ‘where was all the cover?’” continued Johnson. “We have to expect the worst at a moment like that. That was my disappointment in potentially some individuals taking the Andorrans a little bit lightly “Maybe in a domestic game, let’s say Celtic away, defenders quickly get back in and sweep that up if an error is made. Unfortunately if you are a goalkeeper it’s fatal. It was a slip, it wasn’t a technical error. We will have to see.”

Boyle played in a friendly at Blackpool at the weekend as he continued his return to full fitness and Johnson said: “I am very happy with him. He has been exemplary as a professional in terms of the work he has done in the gym and the physical effort he has put in. It is not easy to come back from an injury like that and I feel like he is ready to play a part.”