Michael Weir: Hibs don’t seem to know what to do when they move ahead

The message Paul Heckingbottom has to give to his players is quite simple: we have to start winning games if we are to climb up the table.
Ryan Porteous, right, celebrates his goal against Aberdeen with fellow Hibs team-mate Stevie Mallan. Pic: SNSRyan Porteous, right, celebrates his goal against Aberdeen with fellow Hibs team-mate Stevie Mallan. Pic: SNS
Ryan Porteous, right, celebrates his goal against Aberdeen with fellow Hibs team-mate Stevie Mallan. Pic: SNS

I think most fans, going into that run of matches – Kilmarnock away, Celtic, and a trip to Aberdeen – would have viewed getting a place in the Betfred Cup semi-finals and remaining unbeaten in two tough Premiership games as a pretty good return.

As Heckingbottom said, it should have been even better than that, a win by two or three goals at Pittodrie would have given everyone a huge boost and the psychological lift of seeing us creep up the table ever so slightly.

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There have been promising signs during this recent spell of an improvement – even if we aren’t scoring anywhere near enough goals and are lacking the clean sheets we need – but our next three games, away to Hamilton and home to Ross County and Livingston, are ones we have to win.

We’ve dropped too many points already this season, too often from a winning position, that last-minute equaliser against St Johnstone, losing in the final few minutes to Hearts and allowing Aberdeen – down to ten men – to equalise late on has cost us dearly.

I know every club can talk of points lost that they feel shouldn’t have been, but just think of where we might be sitting today without those lapses. It would certainly be much healthier than tenth.

When we get in front we have to make sure we stay in front. If we get a goal ahead we should be finding ways to kill off the opposition, to make sure there is no way back for them.

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To me, at the moment we don’t seem to be quite sure of what to do when we are ahead, do we stick or twist?

I’m a great believer of when you are ahead you should do everything to put the other team away.

I don’t think we are good enough defensively – and I think the goals against column backs me up – to try and hold onto a one-goal lead.

As long as there’s only one in it, the opposition are always in the game and there comes a time when they have nothing to lose and throw everything at you.