Hibs boss slams players for lack of mental toughness

The Easter Road boss looked on in dismay as he watched First Division Ross County, who had twice come from behind to force a 2-2 draw and a replay at Easter Road go one step better on their own tiny Victoria Park in Dingwall.

Although they again fell behind, Republic of Ireland striker Anthony Stokes claiming his 18th goal of the season at the start of the second half, the Staggies hauled themselves level through substitute Garry Wood.

And they stunned their SPL opponents to set up a semi-final clash with Celtic at Hampden as Scott Boyd bundled home the winner with just 14 seconds remaining. although Hughes later claimed the final touch had come off Hibs defender Sol Bamba.

Either way Hibs, starved of Scottish Cup success since 1902, were out of the competition yet again, ending the dream that this might be their year at last after Lady Luck shone on them with draws against Junior outfit Irvine Meadow and Third Division Montrose before the shock administered by Ross County.

Describing the defeat as "absolutely gut-wrenching" Hughes, who has now seen his side win just once in their last nine matches, said: "I've said since day one I've felt Hibs were a soft team, I've always said that and I think it showed last night.

"What do I mean by soft? We are turned over, we do not have that resolve, that character, that toughness to see games out, to win ugly, that mental attitude to go out and express ourselves and I think that was evident."

To support his claim, Hughes pointed to how Hibs conceded that late equaliser in the initial match between the sides, resulting in last night's 340-mile round-trip for some 1,300 Easter Road fans who made the long journey home in the early hours of this morning bitterly disappointed.

He said: "What really annoyed me is that we should not have been up there last night.

"We should have seen the game at Easter Road out, no matter how badly we were playing, we are the SPL side and we should not have conceded that second goal. That's why we were up there last night and out of the Cup."

Admitting confidence had taken a huge blow over recent weeks as Hibs have also seen themselves slip from third to fifth in the SPL table, Hughes insisted he'll be closely analysing what's happened, adamant that no-one, including himself, will be exempt from criticism declaring "we are all in it together".

He added: "There's no talking around it, last night was a massive disappointment, probably the biggest disappointment of the season. If that was our best shot in a big game knowing what was at stake, a cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden, then we have a lot of hard work in front of us.

"One or two need to have a right good look in the mirror and realise what they are playing for – one of the best clubs in Scotland and that's not good enough."