St Johnstone 2-0 Hibs: Time for Hibs to walk the walk

All they want is to see some sign of it where it matters, out there on matchday. Hughes may not like statistics, but the figures, as unpleasant as they might be to the Hibs manager, don't lie. Just one win in ten matches so far this season, a mere five points taken from a possible 21 in the SPL.

Today Hibs sit joint second bottom in the table, separated from the basement position itself by a single point. Little wonder the supporters are making their unhappiness known, boos and jeers the norm on the final whistle in recent weeks. There was a lull in hostilities following a performance at Celtic Park which, although it resulted in defeat, at least brought a little optimism and the promise of better to come.

But the pessimism deepened yet again on the back of this abject display against a side which hadn't had its own troubles to seek, Hibs managing just two shots on target - both courtesy of David Wotherspoon - throughout the entire 90 minutes with Saints goalkeeper Peter Enckelman reduced virtually to the role of spectator in the second half such was the lack of activity around his goal.

Despite the recent changes in the heart of defence Hibs still have that soft centre, opposition sides well aware that a chance will come their way at some stage and, again, two simple lapses were enough to sink the Capital outfit, Liam Craig stealing across the face of the defence to bullet home Danny Grainger's corner - an identikit goal to that scored by Glenn Loovens a week earlier - and then the visiting defence hesitating for a fatal split- second as Marcus Haber raced onto Enckelman's clearance to put the issue beyond doubt.

The fact both goals were scored by Saints substitutes wasn't lost on the travelling support, who made up the bulk of a meagre 3819 crowd, as they noted the lack of inactivity in the away dug-out where Hughes' reserves remained rooted to the bench.

Could any of them have made a difference? Perhaps not, but to those making the journey home on Saturday night taking the chance on a change or two seemed a better option than simply doing nothing.

When challenged over his decision Hughes alluded to the loss of Darryl Duffy, the transfer deadline day signing out for the foreseeable future having broken a bone in his foot, the Hibs boss bemoaning being unable to deploy the forward's pace "over the top and down the channels".

But surely Hibs shouldn't be counting on a player who has yet to kick a ball for the club as their salvation? Valdas Trakys, who arrived on the same day as Duffy, may not be quite match-fit but is an unknown quantity to opposition defences but, like Edwin De Graaf who has had a miserable time in front of goal despite Hughes' faith in his ability as a "box-to-box player", he was left cooling his heels.While Hughes may have puzzled the Hibs support by his reluctance to make changes, they would, at least, have agreed that it's always worth leaving Derek Riordan on the pitch, the striker liable to conjure up a moment of magic out of nothing as he had at Celtic Park, but at the moment there seems to be an over-reliance on their talisman.

Hibs have managed only six goals in seven league matches, half of them coming in that opening day win over Motherwell, while Riordan accounts for half that total himself. So, when you have a team struggling to score but one which has a propensity to gift the opposition goals of their own there's only one outcome and that's self-evident in the lowly position the Edinburgh club occupy at present.

True, Hibs have not enjoyed the best of luck at times recently but as Saints boss Derek McInnes pointed out in assessing his own side's performance saying: "You can only be unlucky so many times. I said to them 'let's not be unlucky, make sure we win the game'."

McInnes hinted he'd detected his players feeling a little sorry for themselves given their early season troubles, revealing he'd also told them that whoever it might be they had to take responsibility for "getting the ball over the line", a hunger he felt they had been lacking.

In such circumstances it was little wonder this match was, in the main, a dull, drab affair, with goalmouth action at a premium, clear from early on that the first goal was likely to be decisive as Hibs striker Colin Nish, cutting a disconsolate figure, admitted. But despite another bitter disappointment, Nish insisted he and his team-mates can turn their season around although another interruption as the second round of European Championship qualifying matches will leave them with a fortnight to reflect on their plight.

Half raising a smile as he suggested he'd simply avoid looking at the league table in the interim, he said: "We have to keep working, I feel the effort was there but perhaps not the quality."All you can do is go out on the park, work your socks off.

"We know what we can do, we definitely feel we can turn it around.

"There's not been much change from last year so we know we can do it, we just maybe need something to go for us, a bit like a striker who isn't scoring only to have the ball hit his back and go in and then he goes off on a run."

Asked what Saints had done better than Hibs, Nish said: "They scored two goals but the first one was the main thing and they got it. It was slack from us, we should not be losing goals from corners."

Admitting Hughes - who described Hibs' performance as "not good enough" - had understandably been less than happy, Nish went on: "Can I put my finger on it? Not really. It's not through lack of effort, everyone will have their opinion, but the boys are going out onto the park and working.

"Everyone has their personal pride and it will come through. I can understand the fans' reaction, we have not been on the best of runs."

Something of an understatement, Hibs' poor results stretching back well into last season which, while they don't have any bearing on what is happening at present is being used as another stick with which to beat Hughes.

While he argues otherwise, pressure is most certainly building on Hughes and he is well aware that football is a results-driven business and of the implications should they not improve quickly. He said: "Second bottom is not a place we want to be. I have been here before with my old club (Falkirk], fighting a relegation battle."

Hughes was quick to insist that isn't how he sees Hibs' predicament and even claimed he isn't under pressure.

He said: "I am really close to the chairman (Rod Petrie], he knows exactly what is going on and what needs to be done and the work that's being put in."

That may be the case, but at the moment all the fans want to see is a couple of wins and Hibs heading up that table.

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