Kevin McBride focused on having the legs for crucial run-in

KEVIN McBRIDE'S stop-start season has been a source of great frustration to the midfielder but he's determined to finish it on a high – and in the starting XI.

The former Falkirk player was one of John Hughes' first signings and was an ever-present until an ankle injury, a groin problem and a head knock wreaked havoc with his season. However, he is keeping his fingers crossed that he can negotiate the last few weeks of the campaign without picking up another knock.

His latest problem – another ankle injury – abated sufficiently for him to replace Liam Miller with half an hour of the game remaining at Hamilton last weekend and he's desperate to re-establish himself in the starting line-up between now and the end of the term.

"My ankle is strapped up but, if selected, I am fit enough to play. Friday last week was my first day back in training so I've had three or four days now so hopefully I will be fit enough for the weekend.

"We got off to a great start as a team and I played well but then you get a niggly injury and you are out for nine or ten weeks. That's always frustrating but you have got to get on with it and try to get back in the team again."

Recent results have seen Hibs settle in fourth place in the SPL and McBride conceded that their early-season targets have had to be reassessed, adding: "There was a stage in the season when everyone was talking about second and we maybe took our eye off the ball but I think now we have just got to concentrate on fourth place."

Irish star Miller may have been suspended for today's game against Celtic but McBride believes there are players capable of filling in for his fellow midfielder, if required.

McBride believes Miller has been their best player this season and continued: "It doesn't put any more pressure on me, it gives me a break from him, gives me peace!

"Obviously it will be a big miss for the team, he is a massive player for us and possibly our best player this season. There are players here though who will come in and hopefully do as well as he did."

The last time Hibs travelled to Parkhead on league business, a late goal from Danny Galbraith gave the Easter Road outfit all three points in January.

McBride insisted Hibs can't afford to read too much into that result and reckons he and his team-mates will have to be on top of their game if they are to repeat that feat against Neil Lennon's team.

He continued: "We know that it will be very difficult, just the same as it was the last time. Fortunately, we managed to get a 2-1 victory on that occasion, but all of the boys in the dressing room know that it will be another very hard game.

"That was the high point of the season and since then it has been very difficult and results have not been the best. None of us can put our finger on the reason for it, otherwise it wouldn't have gone for quite so long.

"The boys have got to get it together now, the gaffer has been saying that over the previous few weeks it has not been good enough. We have got to stand up and prove people wrong now.

"We are just trying the same and doing the same things as we were earlier in the season but it has not been good enough in recent weeks. We want to get back to the results that we had at the start of the season.

"Confidence could be a factor but I don't know why we are low in confidence because we are sitting fourth in the league. Obviously we wanted third but we are still higher up than we were last year.

"We went to Hamilton last weekend who are in the middle of the table and I think it was the worst performance of the season from all of us. We have done well against the bigger teams, Celtic at Parkhead and Ibrox against Rangers, so we are going to go to Glasgow and give it our all."