Hibs need safety valve win against St Mirren to change pressure formula ahead of Hearts semi-final at Hampden
Marink Reedijk staying calm amid storm after three straight losses
Three games, three losses plus a looming Hampden semi-final against Hearts makes for a brutally elegant equation. You certainly don’t need a great grasp of Boyle’s Law – named after 17th-Century scientist Robert, not 21st Century footballer Martin – to gauge the pressure enveloping Hibs at the moment.
Tonight’s Scottish Premiership contest against St Mirren in Paisley must change the maths surrounding Marink Reedijk’s early efforts in Scottish football. And deliver a release valve for the strain being placed on this team and, especially, a 35-year-old manager doing everything in his power to show that he is equal to the challenge at a club of this size.
Fair play to Reedijk for appearing to stay so calm in the eye of the storm, the young Dutch gaffer holding onto the things he knows to be true and finding a way to dispel the “anger” that burns inside him after every defeat. Banking on his own conviction, and the belief of his players, to pay off in a high-stakes punt fast approaching all-or-nothing territory.
Manager in focus after just three games
Having walked away from a title-winning team after an undefeated season, and taken his time to weigh up a series of attractive offers before pitching for the Hibs gig, Reedijk has arrived a career crossroads early in life. Events of the next five days will go long way to deciding the direction of travel for club and coach.
The former Beveren boss, who takes great heart from an improved performance in Sunday’s 2-1 home loss to league leaders Celtic, revealed something of the internal working behind the composed demeanour as he admitted: “Since I'm young, I have had this … if I lose, then I have this feeling of anger or whatever you have to call it. But then with some sleep, or with some distraction, it goes away, and then I can think that I can analyse the game better afterwards, and this is how I do it, how I always did it.
“So I don't see a reason for change, although sometimes it's difficult. But also, you have to accept, you cannot change it anymore at that moment in time, and the day after is not the day to really get into these kind of moments, if you like.
“And after the match, you also think: ‘OK, these faces we have to see tomorrow.’ So then you are ready to give some bits and bobs to the staff to highlight and select. And then we go through this, and eventually maybe we add in the week other elements, which I don't saw with this stuff - but the main things are most often after the game quite clear.
“What I do is I leave the game for the day because otherwise I see it with emotions, with the angry feeling in my belly. Also, when we win, I will also take my eyes away, by the way.
“I think that's important, not that I'm not focussing on improvement the day after, but it's more for me to see the whole game back. It takes a day and then I see it in a more objective way. And the day after I ask the staff in order to show me things they saw, and then I look it back afterwards.”
Malky Mackay acting as sounding board for boss
Everyone in football has someone they talk to, usually when in need of advice or guidance. Reedijk, whose inner circle extends beyond the game, insists he’s had no great need to be hitting the phones just three games into his time as Hibs boss.
“Oh yeah, I have enough also here in the building, I always ask the staff,” he said, throwing sporting director Malky Mackay into the mix as he added: “I ask Malky, I ask all the guys who also played.
“But also outside external, I have two or three people I can rely on, people I worked with. People regard really high, and also people I haven't worked with.
“Also people outside of football sometimes in order to get a fresh perspective on group dynamics, on external point of views, not having to do with football. Because it's also refreshing. So, now and again, I do this.
“But I don't feel at the moment that it is needed because, again, I think this sounds strange after the results we had - but we are going in the right direction. It's just a matter of that we stick together and stay together, and I see on the training pitch that we stay together, I see in the stadium, that we stay together after the match. So that's the important cues I see that we all do things together.
“Again, I'm a believer that then the results will come. And do we have need of a win? Yes, I understand that is football.”
Reedijk, still fielding questions about his decision to use Grant Hanley as an impromptu centre forward – to no little effect – late in Sunday’s game, won’t rule out more left-field moves as he looks for that breakthrough result, saying: “I don't say I will do it more often and I also won't say that I will never do it again. It all depends on situation, scenario, what the team needs, what kind of players we have available.
“So is it my preferred option? No. But if time asks, maybe, yes, but also maybe, no, depends. I keep every option open.”
With Martin Boyle still unwell after calling off late on Sunday, and none of his injured first-team contenders returning, Reedijk doesn’t have much wiggle room in terms of selection for tonight’s game. Missing seven players who might be useful, the arithmetic isn’t any more promising than it was a few days ago.
But heading into Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final on the back of another dispiriting defeat is completely unthinkable for Hibs. Against a St Mirren team who snapped a five-game losing streak with their weekend win over Dundee, they have a great chance to not only climb off the foot of the table - but at least nudge the odds of a Hampden victory towards Reedijk’s obvious outsiders.