Stephen Glass: I made sure Aberdeen players knew half-time score at Hibs

Aberdeen players were made fully aware they had been handed a lifeline in their bid to overhaul Hibs in third place with a half-time score bulletin from Easter Road.

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass saw his side secure fourth place with a win over Livingston (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Stephen Glass delivered the news Hibs were trailing at half-time as his own side were struggling to break down Livingston. The race for third place has intensified again after Aberdeen came out and scored twice through Callum Hendry and the returning Ryan Hedges to secure three points at the Tony Macaroni Arena. The visitors survived a late rally from Livingston, who pulled a goal back through Jay Emmanuel-Thomas with ten minutes left.

Meanwhile, Hibs failed to stage a comeback against St Johnstone and fell to Glenn Middleton’s first-half strike.

It means Aberdeen – who have now secured European football next season – still have hopes of overtaking Hibs in third place. They are now three points behind with the teams due to meet at Pittodrie a week on Wednesday.

“We’ve kept it alive,” said Glass, a former Hibs player. “We knew the score from Easter Road at half-time, so it gave us a carrot to dangle in front of the players – can we set up a massive game next Wednesday? We know what we need to do, we know what we want to set up for the final day of the season.

“I’m just delighted for the players, they got the reward for their work rate today, and a bounce back from what happened last weekend [against Dundee United].”

Glass described Hedges, who scored his side’s second goal, as like a new signing at a crucial stage of the season. Hedges has not featured since sustaining a pectoral injury in a 2-0 home defeat against Livingston in February. He was due to be out for the season.

“I think the club has missed him,” said Glass. “I think the team has missed him. He showed his obvious quality. It feels like a new player for next season already. But with a few games left it’s a huge bonus. And it is testament to how hard he has worked to get back and testament to the medical staff and how hard they have worked.”