Exclusive:Euro hopefuls Hibs working without a safety net as record run dismissed with 'we want more' declaration

Hibs have given themselves “nothing to fall back on” in the race for third place after Saturday’s loss to closest rivals Aberdeen, according to Jordan Smith. And the veteran goalie says he and his team-mates must forget about the 17-game unbeaten run that saw them climb from the foot of the Scottish Premiership to the race for European qualification – because only capitalising on that remarkable surge will make this crazy campaign feel like a success.

Smith, who could do nothing as former Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet’s wonder strike gave the home side a precious victory at Pittodrie, admits players deserve to feel proud of turning the season around after sitting 23 points the Dons at one stage. But he’s warned that allowing the Dons to draw level on points with their weekend win has left Hibs working without a safety net.

Hibs remain in third place, a prize that could deliver guaranteed Europa Conference League group stage football, on goal difference despite a first defeat in 18 league games. With Dundee United at Easter Road this weekend, David Gray’s men are determined not to end the season with a whimper.

“Yeah, I mean, it'd be quite easy to pat ourselves on the back and go, you know, what a fantastic turnaround to get to where we are,” said Smith. “The trouble now, though, is we've given ourselves such a fantastic opportunity to kick on from that and achieve something quite incredible really

“It's a nice statistic that we've kind of ticked off, but ultimately we want more. As good as that is, we need to quickly move on because we need to make sure we get the right results too.”

Hibs players urged to ‘embrace the challenge’ over Scottish Premiership closing stretch

Asked if it would almost feel like a failure if they didn’t finish in third place, Smith said: “Yeah, I think you're right. That's the environment, that's the industry and that's why some people get to the top and others don't, probably.

“With this group, with this squad, we can draw on the tough times that we came through - and the answers that we came up with to all the questions and criticism that was rightly coming our way. Coming through that, all it's done is given us a platform to go and do something even greater.

“And that's what we want to do. You want to be at the very top, testing yourselves against the top teams.

“And, you know, there were plenty of moments of quality against Aberdeen, none more so the goal that separated the teams. And that's the games that we want to be competing in, you know, more often than not.”

Asked if he could enjoy the tension of everything being on the line over the closing stretch, Smith declared: “Yeah, you have to embrace the challenge, absolutely. That's something that I'll make sure I'm ready for - and I'm sure the rest of the boys will be anyway. And the gaffer will get us ready for that.

“It’s probably less enjoyable for the fans and maybe less enjoyable for us, you know, in terms of when you've got that cushion. It's preferable to have a bit of breathing space But that can also make you rest on your laurels a little bit, which is one thing that we knew we couldn't do anyway.

“And now we're in a position where there's nothing to fall back on. So we need to make sure we're right, you know, day in, day out and for the rest of the four cup finals that we've got this season.”

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