Hibs defender keeping the faith as he insists team needs results to match their performances

Chris Cadden believes it wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world if Hibs went on a run of positive form as the right-back insisted it is results, not performances, that are eluding the Easter Road side.

The 25-year-old is not suggesting the Capital club couldn’t have performed better in some matches, but feels key moments aren’t falling for Hibs – and if they were, results and therefore atmosphere, would be a lot more positive.

“There are no excuses; we should have done better in the games. But if you look at the big moments they didn’t go our way. If you think of Mykola’s goal against Kilmarnock it was Elias Melkersen’s kneecap that was offside. Three centimetres back and it’s a goal, and the game might have changed. These wee things aren’t going for us just now. But we know we need to do better and these are games that ultimately we should be winning,” he said, previewing the visit of Middlesbrough for Saturday’s friendly match.

Cadden has experienced rough patches under Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney but the reliable right-back insists that this time is different – and he fully expects Hibs’ form to change sooner rather than later.

“They were separate times and separate players and managers, but I know I’ve got full faith in these players and the coaching staff and everyone involved that we can go and turn it around,” he added.

“It’s not as if we’re looking for a performance. If we went on a run it wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world. We’ve got that in us in the changing room and the coaching staff we’ve got and the manager. We’ve got it in us to turn it around and we just need to have faith in that.”

Club captain Paul Hanlon believes that the friendly matches, against Boro on Saturday and FC Edinburgh in early December can be a big benefit for players returning from injury but like Cadden, accepts that results weren’t good enough prior to the mid-season pause.

“We’ve got a lot of work to get in the tank to get ready for the fixtures coming up. We’ve gone through a difficult time on the pitch in the last few weeks and the feel-good factor in the club isn’t great at the minute,” he added.

Chris Cadden, left, and Paul Hanlon take part in training at East Mains

“We broke up after the Kilmarnock game and we’ve obviously reviewed everything that’s gone on. We have to learn as much as we can as a squad as to how we can be better, because the results weren’t good enough before the break."

Kevin Nisbet is one player expected to feature in the two friendly matches and Hanlon believes handing the Scotland striker gametime in non-competitive fixtures can help him build up his match sharpness ahead of the cinch Premiership restart.

“The friendlies we’ve got can be perfect for some of the boys coming back from injury. They’re not competitive games they’re coming straight back into,” the skipper continued.

"Nizzy especially can build up his minutes in a more controlled environment and get ready for Rangers when it comes."