Hibs need to rediscover their spark, says David Marshall - starting with Aberdeen clash

David Marshall has been in football long enough to have experienced it all, and the Hibs captain believes his side aren’t too far away from hitting their stride.
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The 37-year-old picked the ball out of the net three times on Sunday as Hibs fell to another 3-0 Edinburgh derby defeat, this time at Easter Road, with the added insult of being knocked out of the Scottish Cup at the fourth-round stage, but feels the Capital club just need to find a bit of confidence to get some momentum going.

Manager Lee Johnson insists Hibs are not too far away from Hearts but pointed to the strength in depth as a major factor, in terms of who the visitors were able to bring off the bench in the second half. Marshall felt that the main difference was in the penalty area.

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"Obviously they've been clinical. Lawrence Shankland is in a good run of form and we've been disappointed with the goals we've conceded lately. We started the season quite strongly defensively and we've slipped a little bit. You're never as far away as you think and for the first hour of the game, we matched Hearts and arguably were the better side, but it comes down to goals,” he added.

David Marshall wants Hibs to find some momentumDavid Marshall wants Hibs to find some momentum
David Marshall wants Hibs to find some momentum

The skipper insists Hibs are already looking towards next weekend’s cinch Premiership visit of Aberdeen and believes his side need to ‘find a bit of confidence’ and rediscover their spark.

"We still need to get some momentum going. We play Aberdeen next and we can get higher in the league,” he continued. “We've got a chance to do that. It's a tough one after the Hearts game but we need to find a bit of confidence, a bit of spark and go again. If you look back at the cup game, we can take some positives in terms of performances, which has been potentially lacking in recent months.”

Hibs may need to rebuild at the back this month, with Ryan Porteous expected to leave and Rocky Bushiri suffering what looked like a serious injury towards the end of Sunday’s match.

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Marshall continued: "I think Ryan will more than likely go with his contract situation. Rocky went off injured as well so the manager might be looking to see how bad his injury is. We've got Will Fish and also Paul Hanlon has come back from a small injury – in terms of that, we should be equipped enough to do what we want to do.”

The ‘keeper has already spoken about his situation with Scotland. He hung up his international gloves last spring but injury to Craig Gordon has left the goalie position in the national team up in the air.

"When you retire, it's a difficult one. Zander [Clark, Hearts goalie] is in a good run of form, but when you step away, it's strange. I understand the circumstances are different with Craig's injury. With the respect I have for Steve Clarke, if he felt he needed some experienced heads ... me, Craig and Allan McGregor are the ones that have had the last 150, 200 caps between us so I understand the question, but it's not something I'm putting myself forward for. Steve has made a lot of correct decisions so I'm sure he'll have a plan for it.”

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