Shaun Maloney on what Hibs need to beat Hearts as he promises 'very different next season'

Shaun Maloney has spoken a lot about the history and the culture of the club he joined a few months ago.

The Hibs manager is keen to reflect the traditions and style of play associated with the Easter Road outfit but, going forward, he says he will be more selective in the traits he wants to imbue in his side and the players he brings in to bolster the club’s ambitions.

Looking to steer clear of the Hibsing slurs, he doesn’t want a squad that possesses style but no substance.

Already this term, the squad he inherited, laced with a few winter acquisitions but minus some key performers, came up short of their league targets and will see out the remainder of the campaign in the bottom half of the table.

Shaun Maloney leads Hibs training ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts on Saturday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

It leaves them facing an all or nothing Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts and while Maloney is confident that he has pinpointed areas where the game can be won, sweeping aside the 3-1 defeat to the same opponents last weekend, for his plan to work, his players have to turn up and, at the very least, compete. For more than the 25 minutes they mustered at Tynecastle last weekend.

Against a team which will see out the Premiership season in third place and has developed a culture of bouncing back from adversity and proving people wrong, the Hibs players will also have to show more resilience than they managed in the last head-to-head, when, having allowed Hearts to equalise just before half-time, they lost another goal just after the interval and never looked likely to stage a comeback, eventually leaking a third goal along with their confidence.

“The timing of the goals definitely had an impact on the game but they shouldn't have had that big an impact,” admitted Maloney, who revealed the players appear to have responded more positively in training this week but well aware that the biggest test of that will come at lunchtime on Saturday, inside a raucous Hampden.

“When you have adversity in the game, especially when we had played the way we did at times in the first 25-20 minutes, then we shouldn't allow these moments in games to affect our performance overall.

Hibs manager Shaun Maloney (left) is delighted to welcome back 'big personality' Ryan Porteous for the semi-final against Hearts. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

“That is definitely one of the things we have to change this weekend if we are going to give ourselves the best opportunity to win. When there are those moments against us, we have to continue to play the way we did in that first 25-30 minutes or the game will be very, very difficult.

“Every successful team has a certain culture or personality trait and we have shown that at times, in the derby at Easter Road, where we showed a side that maybe even our supporters hadn’t seen previously. But we need to see that more often. Not just in derby games, in every league game, really. If we don't have that then that is a problem because that will always be one of the determining factors in where we finish in the league. And we have to be prepared to show that side of our character.”

The loss of goalscorer Drey Wright and knocks to both Joe Newell and Rocky Bushiri were factors in the loss but not excuses, he says, and while midfielder Newell shrugged off his injury to prove himself one of his team’s best performers, the same could not be said of the Belgium Under-21. He is available for selection this weekend but the team will not be named until the morning of the match. The returning Ryan Porteous is likely to see his name on the starting line-up, though, bringing his leadership qualities and ability to play out from the back.

“He is just a big personality in those big games,” said the Hibs manager, who has also welcomed Paul McGinn and Demi Mitchell back to training, although neither are expected to make it back to full fitness in time for Saturday. “Ryan’s performance in the last derby game [at Easter Road] was outstanding. He showed big personality in the fight but also in the way he played. So it’s a real big positive to have him back for this game. I’m looking forward to seeing his performance.

“I hope he will bring out the best in others.”

Trying to make the most of what he has in the short-term, regardless of the outcome, Maloney sees this cup run as one stop on the journey rather than the final destination.

“I think when you are in the here and now then you have to take responsibility for results now. I have to do that as manager of this club, as the leading figure and the supporters have been good as well. I understand their hurt after a derby game but generally, especially our away fans, have been very, very good. When I get speaking to them, they understand where the squad is at and understand that it will be very different next season and even though we are in the middle of the biggest week of this season, before that and after that I’m working extremely hard to make sure next season feels a lot different to what it does now.

“Next season we can’t be in a position where we leave it to the last day or second last day to achieve the position we want to achieve. But all that hard work and all that talk can be done at a different time. The sole focus has to be this weekend.

“I have to give the players clarity and confidence as to why Hearts did hurt us at times [last week]. And give clarity about the moments where we hurt Hearts. And if we can sustain that, then I’m very confident the result can be different.”

But, he concludes, the only way of justifying that claim is on the pitch and that’s where Hibs have often struggled this term.

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