Hibs are in a crisis? Don't Mack me laugh

St Johnstone defender Dave Mackay insists nobody in Perth will be fooled by Hibs' league position - because they know the Easter Road side are a much better outfit than their SPL standing would suggest.

Hibs have endured a disappointing run of results in the opening weeks of the season but, with just six games gone in the domestic campaign so far, Mackay knows that it would be premature to start reading too much into where they sit in the table.

Second-bottom Saints play host to John Hughes' side this weekend and go into the game two places and one point behind their opponents, but Mackay is confident that neither side will be down at that end of the table for too long.

He said: "We know that Hibs are a better side than their results have suggested lately and we're not going to be fooled by their league positions.

"Obviously know that results maybe haven't gone their way in the last few weeks, you always look at the other teams' results at the weekend, especially those who are around about you in the table or who you're playing next in the fixture list.

"We won't be looking at their form though, we'll just be concentrating on our own game.

"If you look at the league table right now it's so tight that just a win or two can push you right up the table.

"Hibs know that if they win their next couple of game, if other results go their way, that they can open up a bit of ground on a few of the teams round about them.

"Hibs will come good again and I wouldn't be surprised to see them up there challenging for a European place again but I hope that they don't start winning again until after the international break!"

Because of the league split, the last time that Hibs travelled to McDiarmid Park was back in February and it was a night for the Edinburgh side to forget as they went down 5-1.

Doubles from Liam Craig and on-loan Cillian Sheridan, along with a strike from team-mate Kenny Deuchar piled on the misery for Hibs on a freezing cold night with their only reply coming from Anthony Stokes.

And Mackay, who played from the start that night, recalled: "We got off to a really good start in that game, I think that we scored two fairly early goals and that really gave us a lift.

"It was just one of those games when everything that we did seemed to click, on another night it might have been totally different, but obviously we were more than happy with the way that it went.

"Any win over Hibs is great for us but that was a fantastic result for us, we even went on to beat Rangers a few weeks later 4-1. Things really started to come together for us around that point because we'd not had the best of starts to the campaign, everything picked up from then on."

Mackay also believes that playing alongside the likes of Michael Duberry and Jody Morris every week has helped his side to progress.

While Saints have yet to find consistency in their league performances - they have won one, drawn one and lost four so far in this campaign - he says that the former Chelsea duo's experience has been of huge benefit to the team, particularly to the younger members of the squad.

"I think that having them in the side has helped everyone and I'm sure that every single person in the squad looks up to these kind of guys, especially the younger boys.

"A lot of the young guys are still quite shy and quiet and Michael and Jody have helped bring them out of their shells and they're always there to give them advice as well."

Saints manager Derek McInnes is one of the rising managerial talents in the country right now and Mackay for one is delighted that his boss will be staying on for a bit longer. The ex-Rangers midfielder and assistant Tony Docherty both penned new two-year contract extensions with the Perth side earlier this month which will keep them at the club until 2013.

Mackay knows that the new deal won't stop his manager from attracting suitors from other clubs if he can replicate the form his side showed in the latter stages of last season but he continued: "It's always good to know that your manager is committed to the club.

"We know that there will be teams looking to take him from us, we know that, especially if we have another good season.

"Obviously we all want him to stay with the club for as long as possible but at least we know that, if someone does come in for him and the clubs come to some agreement, that St Johnstone will be entitled to compensation and that can only work in our favour."

"I wouldn't be surprised to see them up there challenging for a European place again" dave mackay