Former Hearts man admits Hibs are going 'under the radar' in title race after recent Easter Road resurgence
The former Hearts and Leicester man believes Hibs have looked back to their best of late.
After Hibs’ post-Edinburgh Derby surge in form, a former Jambo thinks they’re being overlooked at the top of the SPFL Premiership table
It was one win in five for David Gray’s men before the heroic, end of year Easter Road Derby triumph and since then, the Leith side have kicked on, with wins over Aberdeen and Kilmarnock. Hibs now sit fifth in the league, with an opportunity to leapfrog Motherwell on Saturday at home.
It’s the first time all season that Hibs have won three on the bounce, as Gray strives to revisit the form they showcased around this time last year, when they went 17 league games unbeaten between December and April. As they sit only ten points off league leaders Hearts and still not a million miles away from the Old Firm, a similar run would see them right in amongst it at the top of the table.
While some Hibees fans will be tearing their hair out wondering where these consistency levels have been all season, Robbie Neilson believes it’s purely down to them being more clinical and their strikers firing on all cylinders. The former Hearts player and manager also believes that Hibs have went ‘under the radar’ at the top of the table, which could actually benefit them.
Neilson says Hibs are going ‘under the radar’
Speaking on BBC Sportsound’s Scottish Football Podcast, he said: “it’s a difficult one with Hibs, because I think they’re a solid team but I don’t think they’re an outstanding team. It’s difficult because you’re comparing them with a really strong Hearts team and a really good Motherwell team as well.
“When I look at them, they’ve picked up recently because they’re scoring the chances they get and their offensive efficiency has been so much better. I think that having [Kieron] Bowie in that striker position has given him a bit of a lift. Because he’s a young kid, he goes up and down. So he’ll maybe score four or five on the bounce then dry up for a few weeks.
“Again, it’s a difficult one with Hibs because they’re a good team, but not a great team and I think we’ve got a few really good teams outside the Old Firm this year. So yeah, they’re kind of going under the radar a wee bit at the moment.”
Motherwell ‘exceptional’ Premiership performers so far
Hibs will face Motherwell on Saturday in the reverse fixture of the Fir Park defeat they suffered in November. On that day, the Steelmen emerged 2-0 victors and manager Jens Berthel Askou was praised for an assured, comfortable Lanarkshire display. While Hibs now have the opportunity to avenge this result and go fourth in the table, Neilson believes Motherwell are one of the most aesthetically pleasing sides to watch in the country.
He continued: “I think it’s exceptional what he’s [Askou] done so far. I think he’s helped them in two ways, both tactically and mentally. At the start of the season in the League Cup they had a few difficult results and it would’ve been easy for the players and the manager to change and crumble under the pressure, but he stood strong.
“They also have a squad that looks as if they can bring players in and out. A lot of the time for the likes of Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs etc, they don’t have a squad big enough to handle three, four or five injuries, whereas I think Motherwell have that at the moment because they’ve rotated quite well so it’s very interesting and good to see.”