Hibs in 'bounce back' vow ahead of Easter Road Celtic clash - as stalwart makes 'fear the worst' VAR admission
Third Scottish Premiership defeat of the season puts Gray’s men on back foot as champions visit
Hibs stalwart Chris Cadden insists the “hurting” Easter Road side will front up and take the game to Celtic as David Gray’s men look to bounce back from just their third league defeat of the season. And the versatile wide man has offered an insight into how players on the front line feel when VAR intervenes in Scottish Premiership games, admitting: “I fear the worst.”
Hibs were comprehensively beaten by Motherwell at Fir Park last night, going down 2-0 in a game that saw Grant Hanley concede a penalty after a VAR check for handball. The Scotland World Cup hero was then sent off for denying Tawanda Maswanhise a clear goal-scoring opportunity, leaving the visitors – already two goals down by that point – short of a body for over an hour of struggle and toil.
Motherwell moved level with Hibs on points
Asked whether he had confidence in the squad to rebound from a poor performance and a difficult result that saw Motherwell draw level with Hibs on 21 points, despite the challenge of facing the defending champions in Edinburgh on Sunday, Cadden said: “Aye, that's not even (a doubt) in my head. The group we've got in there, the characters, the manager, the coaching staff, everybody collectively, we will bounce back, we know we will.
“We've just got to learn from it. Sort of move on and try and learn as much as possible from this.
“Obviously we don't lose many games - we haven't done under the gaffer in probably a year now, since the turn of last season. So it's hurting, it's tough to take - and we've just got to move on.”
Having Celtic visit Easter Road represents both a daunting challenge AND a brilliant opportunity for Hibs to regain some of the momentum – they’d won two on the bounce and had lost just one of their previous six games going into last night’s encounter – surrendered as the Steelmen strolled to victory. Cadden is confident that his team-mates will respond in the right manner.
“Aye, I think it actually helps (having Celtic up next),” he said. “When you get nights like this as a football player, you just want the next game to come as soon as possible.
“So aye, that's going to be a tough game obviously. But at home, the crowd behind us, it'll be hopefully a good test at home.
“Obviously they'll be a good team, we know that, and they have some good players. But we try and sort of keep it level.
“We try and put our style on it and put our footprint on the game. And then take the game to Celtic, especially at home.”
Scotland hero Hanley suspended after red card
Hanley will miss the Celtic game after his red card, with Warren O’Hora – who came off the bench last night – likely to fill in as Gray reshapes his back three. Within the dressing room, there is obviously sympathy for a player who endured a bit of a personal nightmare at Fir Park – but also confidence that the squad is deep enough to cope with his absence.
“Aye, obviously we do feel a bit sorry for Grant, but he's a big, big character,” said Cadden. “He's been absolutely tremendous since he's come in.
“He's a leader, real popular in the dressing room and he's been unbelievable since he came in. Aye, that's football. Sometimes these things happen. But we deal with it as a collective; obviously it's not just an individual, it's a collective.
“We've got to obviously play better, everybody else, myself included. We've got to look at ourselves in the mirror, everybody.
“But aye, Grant's been amazing since he came in. Yeah, not worried about him.
“And I think the squad's really good. Even like trying to get on the bench, there is competition there.
“So you look around at a really good squad, training’s at a high level every single day. That fills you with confidence.
“You’ve obviously got someone like Warren who has been very good this season. He started really well, so I know he'll be confident enough to step back in if he’s called upon, but we've got a great squad there.”
Video Assistant Referee leaving many baffled
If there was no doubt over Hanley’s red card, the handball offence that gifted Motherwell the opener wasn’t as clear cut, given some of the decisions reached by a variety of video assistant referees even during the opening months of the current campaign. There is very little confidence, among those trying to win games on the field, that the right decision is being reached every time.
Asked what goes through his mind when he hears that there’s a VAR check going on, Cadden confessed: “Aye, well, me, I just sort of fear the worst. That's what I think.
“I've not seen the decisions back. I’ll need to wait to see them back obviously before I come to a point of view on it, but the penalty seemed quite close when he kicked it.
“I'm not sure. Obviously, I need to see it back from that angle. It seemed quite close when the guy hit it against his hand, but then obviously the VAR just didn’t go our way.
“I don't think we started the game particularly well. Aye, and then obviously we go down to ten men, we’ve given ourselves a mountain to climb. But I think as a collective we didn't really start the game well.
“I think Saturday we were on the front foot, aggressive from the start and we didn't really give Dundee a chance, but tonight we weren't the same. So aye, it was a tough night.
“I think we sort of tried to obviously stay in the game; you don't want to concede another goal at two down. But then there comes a point you have to try and get a goal yourself.
“We huffed and puffed, didn't really threaten their goals. They played well and they used their spare man well. We were still trying to score a goal even right at the end, tried to put pressure on them, but it didn't work out.
“There is a bit of frustration, obviously, in terms of our points total compared to our performances. I think that levels out throughout the season.
“There’s a few games that we know we could have got more out of. But you can’t dwell on that. You look forward to the next game – which is Celtic.”