Michael Weir: Don't underestimate importance of Hibs' clean sheet at Hamilton

The Hibs players will feel a lot better about themselves after finally getting a victory.

Hamilton can be a tricky place to go, so it was just a matter of getting a win in any manner possible to stop the rot. The way we’ve been playing, I’m just delighted that we managed to get over the line and get the three points.

I wrote last weekend about the importance of getting a clean sheet and rediscovering some solidity so it was especially pleasing for me that we won without conceding. No matter who you’re playing, if you can keep a clean sheet it builds confidence within the whole team. When you’re losing two and three goals per game, it’s a worrying sign so if we can get back to keeping the back door shut on a regular basis, that will go a long way to helping us get back on track.

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We had a bit of freshness at the weekend, with Emerson Hyndman and Ofir Marciano coming back into the mix, and that was a reminder of the depth of quality we still have at the club. On paper, we still have a strong-looking squad even though we’ve not had the results to reflect that. It’s just a case of getting some confidence back into them players and finding the right blend because there’s no doubt there’s still enough talent there to go on a bit of a run and start climbing the table. That’s the most important thing, that we know we’ve got the ability to start moving in the right direction. It’s just matter of getting it going now.

Hibs' Ryan Porteous (right) has words with Hamilton's Darian MacKinnon. Pic: SNSHibs' Ryan Porteous (right) has words with Hamilton's Darian MacKinnon. Pic: SNS
Hibs' Ryan Porteous (right) has words with Hamilton's Darian MacKinnon. Pic: SNS

It won’t be easy because we’ve got a really hard run of fixtures coming up before the winter break but sometimes these big games against sides like Celtic, Rangers and Hearts are the ones that bring out the best in Hibs. Those are the type of games that can really spark your season into life. If we’re to have a chance of beating Celtic, we’ll have to be aggressive, like we were in the games against them last season and also for a period at Parkhead in October. That’s the only way to play this Celtic team - you can’t stand off them. We’ve got to make sure we get at them from the start and don’t allow them to settle. If we take that approach, we’ll have a chance of getting another positive result.