Stevenson says Hibs will use criticism to motivate team back to winning ways

LEWIS STEVENSON today admitted he can understand the reaction to Hibs suffering three defeats in the space of just six days – but he insisted John Hughes' players have brought it upon themselves.

Expectations, the little midfielder argued, had understandably risen in line with the Easter Road outfit's success, an unbeaten run of 12 matches firing Stevenson and his team-mates into third place in the SPL table and even prompting talk of being involved in the title chase itself.

Defeats by Rangers, St Johnstone and Motherwell, however, have seen such optimism evaporate, the possibility of a challenge to Rangers and Celtic replaced by a debate as to whether Hibs can hold onto their current position.

The fact remains, though, that Hughes' side still lead Dundee United by a point, a situation 26 games in which, 22-year-old Stevenson insisted, the vast majority of Hibs fans would have jumped at if it had been on offer at the start of the season. And while acknowledging the recent rash of defeats has been bitterly disappointing, Stevenson was equally adamant he and his team-mates have the wherewithal to turn things back in their favour.

He said: "It's just the way of things, people build you up and then they aren't slow to bring you back down. It's up to us to prove them wrong, to get back to winning ways, to hang in there and take that third spot.

"We got a lot of plaudits for that long unbeaten run, for going to Celtic Park and winning and taking a point at Ibrox earlier in the season so we have to be able to take the criticism which has come our way in the past few days. "But every team goes through a bad spell in a season, it's even happened to Rangers and Celtic. However, we are desperate to get that third place so it is up to us to get back to winning ways, hopefully starting with St Johnstone on Saturday.

"It's not as if we have become a bad side overnight, it's still the same bunch of players who got all the praise a few weeks ago and we know what we are capable of."

Although visits to Ibrox, McDiarmid Park and Fir Park in quick succession was always going to provide a tough examination of Hibs' credentials, Stevenson admitted he didn't expect to emerge from that tough programme without a single point.

He argued, though, that those results, as disappointing as they were, had to be kept in perspective.

The Kirkcaldy-born youngster said: "Yes, the record books will show that we were beaten 3-0 by Rangers but they won't reveal that we actually played pretty well, particularly in the first half, and that the third goal came in injury time putting, we felt an unfair reflection on the scoreline. There's no getting away from it, we weren't at all good against St Johnstone but we went to Fir Park looking to bounce back against a team which, possibly, is the in-form side in the SPL at the moment with a long unbeaten run of their own.

"It was a tough week, not a great week but I have to admit I didn't think we'd come away from those three games with no points at all."

Although Hibs had travelled to Fir Park determined to what had been a dismal week on a high, their hopes weren't helped by a red card for midfield ace Liam Miller who was sent packing by referee Euan Norris following a challenge on Motherwell's Jim O'Brien which sparked a free-for-all involving most players on the pitch.

Today Stevenson sided with boss Hughes and skipper Chris Hogg in claiming Republic of Ireland star Miller had every right to feel hard done by.

He said: "To be honest, it wasn't a great tackle but I also don't think it was a red card. Both of Liam's feet were on the ground, he isn't a dirty player although he plays hard and battles away. I think it was a bit harsh but perhaps the reaction which followed with players piling in made it look worse than it was."

Either way, Stevenson conceded, it made life just that touch more difficult as Hibs were forced to play a man short for an hour, putting up a valiant rearguard action only to suffer a devastating blow as Jamie Murphy claimed the winner eight minutes from time.

He said: "It was a hard shift going down to ten men so early. It was backs-against-the-wall stuff a bit but we felt we were going to hold out for a point only to lose a goal so late on which was hard to take.

"There again, we left a lot of teams feeling exactly the same way did at the final whistle having scored so many late goals ourselves.

"I suppose we really can't complain at it having happened to us although that doesn't take away from the disappointment."

Regardless, Stevenson, who made only his third start of the season as Hughes made five changes to the side which went down so badly in Perth, insisted he and his team-mates have no time to feel sorry for themselves as they seek to hit the winning trail again against Saints.

He said: "I know everyone will be saying that's our bubble burst, but we'd say otherwise. We are in third place on merit. It's just a case of keeping the heads down, working hard in training again this week and looking to get that win on Saturday.

"Obviously we are going to miss Liam who has probably been our best player this season but we have a big squad. Players like myself have had to wait for a chance. The boss picked a bit of a different team at Motherwell so I have to hope I've done enough to earn myself another opportunity this weekend."