Yogi tells Hibs to accept flak from fans

JOHN HUGHES today insisted his players must take criticism from their supporters on the chin after they were jeered off the park at the end of their Scottish Cup clash with Ross County.

Hibs defender Ian Murray admitted that he and his team-mates were disappointed with the crowd's reaction to the 2-2 draw but Hughes reckons that the fans were well within their rights to air their frustration.

He said: "I can totally understand the fans' frustrations at the end because it was a big game for us. I don't want to patronise the supporters but this is their club, not ours. Those fans will be around a lot longer than the players will be, that's for sure.

"At the end of the day, they're the ones who pay the money, who come along and support the team every week and they own it to all intents and purposes. It's up to us to make sure that we give them something to shout about."

Hughes, who will find out today if his appeal against a six-match suspension will be upheld by the SFA's disciplinary committee, continued: "It's not all doom and gloom and we have got to get ourselves back on track for the next couple of games.

"I want everyone at the club to be humble, I don't want there to be any egos. Management, players, supporters, we all want the same thing for this club. If the players have a spirit and an attitude where they know they are giving everything for the supporters, then we won't go far wrong."

Hughes is hoping Sol Bamba, Merouane Zemmama and Lewis Stevenson will put themselves into contention for a place in the Hibs side for this weekend's Edinburgh derby by coming through a closed-door bounce game against Partick Thistle today.

Meanwhile, the club has appointed Jamie Marwick as their new finance director.