Derek McInnes makes brutally honest admission about Hibs as Kilmarnock boss pays ultimate compliment

Derek McInnes has honestly summed up how his Kilmarnock side compare to Hibs right now.

The pair played out a close fought encounter in Ayrshire on Saturday in the Premiership. Martin Boyle put the away side at Rugby Park ahead and looked likely to hand David Gray’s side a narrow win, but former player Fraser Murray popped up in second half stoppage time to nick a Killie point.

Despite the late disappointment, Hibs remain unbeaten in 2025 and Aberdeen’s draw at St Johnstone mean they still hold third place. McInnes has not been in the mood to claim his side deserved much from the game, the Kilmarnock boss brutally admitting Hibs are streets ahead of where his 10th-placed men are now.

Hibs kudos

McInnes said: "It's testament to the players that they keep going and they have that resilience. We huffed and puffed at times and the goal we lost epitomised the way we were in the first half. I felt we were disjointed. This is the best Hibs side we've come up against for a while. You see that in the way they play.

"Hibs arrived with a lot of confidence and they've got a bit of everything — size, pace, ball players. If you go after them in a press, they'll bang it in behind. They did it two or three times and it spooked us defensively. We looked a bit uneasy and unsure of ourselves.

"We had some good moments in the first half, but the team wasn't quite right and we've worked on a plan this week to find ways against teams that are better than us — and Hibs are better than us. They have better players and the league table shows that.

"You have to try to find different ways of winning, but it certainly wasn't what we envisaged in terms of performance. That said, it was a good point considering the opponent, and that we never really had the confidence and assurance we normally do."

Name-dropping praise

McInnes was not sparing any punches across his media duties. When it came to discussing how Hibs scored off the back of a Kilmarnock corner with the BBC, McInnes held his hands up, as he put praise on one particular Easter Road difference maker.

He added: “They didn't work our goalkeeper too much but the nature of the first goal that we lose, it's a wee bit self-inflicted. We've tried something, it's not worked, somebody's not done their job right and Hibs were good enough to punish us.

"I think this is the best Hibs team that I've come up against in a few years. They've got a wee bit of everything and with that added ingredient of confidence. They've got ball-players, they've got size, athleticism on the sides and a proper front pairing. Obviously Hoilett was added to that as well."