Hibs set to be backed by bumper away crowd against St Johnstone for top six push

Hibs will be backed by a bumper travelling support when they take on St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday in the final pre-split round of fixtures, with the Easter Road side chasing a top-six berth.

More than 3,000 Hibees will make the trip to Perth hoping to cheer their side to victory while the hosts, who parted company with manager Callum Davidson over the weekend, are looking to improve on their run of just two wins in 14 matches in all competitions since new year. Hibs have to match or better Livingston’s score to be sure of finishing in the top six; the Lions are away to Dundee United, who have lost just one of their last five.

Tickets have already sold out for the North Stand and the two blocks of the Main Stand allocated for away fans, and Saints chiefs have now opened up the middle section of the Ormond Stand at the south end of the pitch for Hibees.

The Capital club took a healthy support with them for the season’s curtain-raiser, when an injury-time goal from substitute Josh Campbell earned Lee Johnson three points in his first league match in charge. In the return fixture at Easter Road, which Hibs marketed as ‘Football for a Fiver’ with cheap and affordable tickets, Mykola Kukharevych put the hosts in front ten minutes before the interval, but a red card for Kyle Magennis on 70 minutes was closely followed by Nicky Clark’s equaliser while Stevie May netted the winner.

Hibs will be backed by more than 3,000 fans at McDiarmid Park

Speaking after last weekend’s Edinburgh derby victory over Hearts, Johnson outlined the importance of the fans roaring the team on – but also admitted that they had been guilty of letting the supporters down on too many occasions since his arrival nearly 12 months ago.

“We’ve let the fans down a couple of times this year, probably a few too many times,” he said. “Just when that bond starts to get created between the players, staff and fanbase we have fallen a bit short. The derby was a big win for us to build the connection and trust with the fanbase. You see how powerful it is when everyone is unified.”

Meanwhile, former Hibs loanee Momodou Bojang has signed for Gambian side Real de Banjul, who are currently second in the country’s top flight.