Hibs boss glad of break but fears momentum is at risk

The Scottish Cup defeat by Capital rivals Hearts has left Hibs idle this weekend as fifth-round matches are played.

It is welcome as far as Lennon is concerned having described his squad as “decimated” by fatigue and injury after a punishing schedule of five games in just 13 days.

The match against Hearts, quickly followed by games against Dundee, Celtic and Motherwell saw Hibs go into the final fixture of that programme, Rangers at Ibrox, without David Gray, Steven Whittaker, Darren McGregor, Paul Hanlon and Vykintas Slivka only to then lose Brandon Barker after a few minutes.

Lennon’s players, however, made it three wins out of four in the league since the winter break with a 2-1 victory against the odds to keep a firm grip on fourth place in the Premiership with a performance which their manager insisted had “done the club proud”.

He said: “It was very unfair having so many games, all against Premiership opposition, concertinaed into that period when other clubs maybe only played three or four matches. The squad was decimated by fatigue and injury. I was looking at the subs bench and I had nothing left, only kids and to throw them on would have been very difficult.

“So we need the break to regroup. Maybe it is coming at a good time in terms of injuries but sometimes you also want that momentum.”

Lennon, who gave his players four days off before returning to East Mains yesterday to begin preparing for next Saturday’s match against second-placed Aberdeen at Easter Road, reckoned that having head physio Nathan Spring and his team working overtime in that period would pay off with his squad looking healthier for the visit of the Dons.

Central defenders Darren McGregor and Paul Hanlon, who picked up hamstring and knee injuries respectively during the win over Motherwell, are expected to be fit while there is also the possibility that Steven Whittaker, who has been troubled by a pelvic injury for the past six weeks, could also be available.

Meanwhile, Hibs fans have snapped up their allocation of tickets for the derby against Hearts at Easter Road a full month ahead of the game on Friday, March 9. The club have appealed for season-ticket holders who can’t make the match to release their seats for other supporters.