John Hughes senses good vibes from players at Hibs

Hibs have won just four times in 27 matches in a run stretching back to February and sit just a point off the bottom of the SPL table. However, they qualified for Europe in that spell by clinching fourth spot last season, and there are so few points between the teams sitting below the Old Firm that victory at McDiarmid Park today could push Hibs back into the top half of the table.

Hughes dealt tersely with questions about the importance of the game in relation to his long-term ambitions at the club and he feels his players are desperate to fend off criticism too. "The boys have been showing a fantastic spirit in training," Hughes said. "I feel good vibes, but that doesn't guarantee you'll win a football match. But I just feel there is a togetherness about them, that all this rubbish that is getting talked is starting to annoy them, and if that's the case I'm hoping they will come out fighting and get three points.

"It's up to these guys. I can talk about it but you need the strength of character in the dressing room to do something about it. "

Hughes, whose team lost 2-1 at Celtic Park last weekend, said: "I feel with the resilience that they showed at Parkhead they are starting to turn the corner."

Hibs were embarrassed 5-1 at McDiarmid Park in February - a result from which it could be argued they have never fully recovered - but Hughes feels his team's performance at Celtic Park has shown there are better times around the corner.

"Possibly you would take three points because that would steady the ship and allow us to get back playing football again," Hughes said. "But I'm big on my philosophy and big on my performance and I felt at Parkhead last week that tactically we were good."

Hibs' midfielder David Wotherspoon returns to his home town, where he used to be a ball boy for St Johnstone, and echoed his manager's views about the importance of the game.

"I'm from Perth and lots of people I know will be at the Saints end on Saturday, but that aspect of the game doesn't faze me at all. It is just another SPL game - the same as any other match," said Wotherspoon. "When I was a ball boy there, I was still very young and then I used to go to support my hometown team, but I wouldn't say it is a familiar ground to me.My mindset is pretty clear - we need to win and I will be doing everything I can to help make sure that happens."

Hughes' Perth counterpart Derek McInnes, meanwhile, is focusing solely on St Johnstone, who are under less scrutiny, although they are a point behind Hibs in the table with four points from their first six games.

The St Johnstone manager is looking only for his players to rebound in positive fashion after losing the Tayside derby 1-0 against Dundee United last week - regardless of the opposition.

"What we have to so is put in a performance which will win us the three points," said McInnes. "We always aim to keep the points in Perth no matter who we are playing against but we know Hibs are a good side and have lots of talented players.

"John Hughes did a fantastic job last season getting them into Europe and it is just a matter of time before they get the win to kick-start their season. We have to make sure it's not against us and concentrate on ourselves."

McInnes says his players are just "a fraction away" from finding the sort of form that almost delivered them what many would have seen as a deserved top-six spot last season.

He said: "I was very pleased with a lot of what we did against Dundee United last week. But we must make sure there is no hangover from that defeat. We have to respond to that positively.

"Give United credit. After they scored the game ran away from us. But even if we had drawn 0-0, I would have still needed to force home to the players that we need to hammer home the advantage when we have it and get the ball in the net. We are a fraction away from getting it right though and I have every confidence that we can. We have players all over the pitch who can score goals as we showed last season. We need to get back to doing that again."