Lee Johnson says of Hibs after Livingston loss: 'You ask a toddler to make a cup of tea, they get burned'

Hibs manager Lee Johnson says his players are on a steep learning curve after a 2-1 loss at Livingston condemned his team to their first cinch Premiership defeat of the season.

Lee Johnson was left scratching his head after Hibs' first-half performance at Livingston.

A 86th-minute header by Ayo Obileye added to Joel Nouble’s early opener to secure a 2-1 win for the Lions, who had been pegged by a Noah Kenneh goal at the start of the second half.

Hibs put in an insipid first-half display and while they improved after the break, Johnson could not hide his disappointment at his team’s performance and likened it to “asking a toddler to make a cup of tea”.

"That was typical of the tough nature of Scottish football,” said Johnson. “We got beaten three times last season by Livingston – you can see why. You have to give credit to the opposition.

"I'm really disappointed with our start. We played into their hands. I thought we were sloppy. It was a little bit laissez-faire, a little bit casual. It took until half time to get us going and I don't think I should have to do that, chuck out the hair dryer, change the tactics too often to get a performance, which I thought was very good. We attacked the game, we went for the jugular. But there was a terrible moment with a poor goal conceded.

"I just made a really bad analogy ... you ask a toddler to make a cup of tea, they get burned. A few of ours got burned today. I'll be honest, I was disappointed, and it wasn't just foreign players or new players, there was a domino effect of negativity until we got them in and were able to re-frame them. It's a steep learning curve after a really good week, but that's football.”

Johnson now wants his players to show bouncebackability when they take on Rangers next weekend at Easter Road.

"We need to train mental resilience,” the manager added. “How can Jair Tavares, who has never been exposed to it, so the mental resilience comes from having a poor game, reflecting and having a good week in training and producing the next time he gets the shirt.”