Jack Ross: Hibs' renewed European credentials is a testament to progress of team

Hibs boss Jack Ross and his Kilmarnock counterpart Alex Dyer. Pic: SNS

Jack Ross has claimed the fact Hibs are now being talked of as possibly finishing third in the Premiership is testament to the progress being made by the Easter Road side.

Goals from Greg Docherty and Adam Jackson earned the capital outfit a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock for whom Chris Burke scored, a win which not only strengthened their grip on a top six finish but left them only five points behind Aberdeen and Motherwell.

Pointing out that Hibs were “probably in a relegation fight” when he took over from the sacked Paul Heckingbottom, Ross said: “When you get thrown in mid-season it’s dead easy to say this is where I thought we would be. I didn’t really know.

“The team wasn’t in a great position, hadn’t had a great record throughout the season. I did think there were good players here, and equally a good group to work with, receptive.and really keen to do well. That’s a good starting point for a manager.

“I think we have just grown steadily we have got better and looked more confident, naturally results do that as well. I didn’t have any targets when I first came in, other than getting away from the position we were in at the beginning. Now we have done that I think we can look forward to a later part of the season that could be quite good for us.”

A week which began with Hibs clinching a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at home to Championship Inverness Caley with a win over BSC Glasgow continued to get better and better, six league points gained from matches against Ross County and Killie.

Admitting his side had to battle hard for the final 30 minutes in Ayrshire, Ross believed the fact they hung on to win showed the growing confidence within his squad.

He said: “I thought for the first hour we were very good probably played better than I maybe could have hoped for in the conditions. Some of the stuff we played was very good and in the last half hour we had to dig it out and be resilient and that’s something I think the team’s been asked questions about throughout the course of the season.

“I think we are getting better at it, I think they have grown in confidence that way to protect a lead when you have to because you are not going to dominate, particularly against good teams.

“They put us under a lot of pressure in the latter part of the game but we stood up to it quite well. It’s been a great week, it’s been a good two or three months for us and post the winter break it’s been good but to bang out the three wins in a tough fixture schedule and a tough away game in difficult weather conditions was pleasing.”

Adamant he’ll continue to take it a game at a time - Saturday’s home game with Livingston giving Hibs the chance to move up to fourth with a win - Ross admitted his side has gained momentum at just the right time of the season.

“I think fact it’s even being talked about (third place) is testament to the progress we have made because we were probably in a relegation fight not so long ago,” he said. “Now allied to the cup quarter-final, there’s plenty for the group to look forward to and be hungry about and I think they have shown that with their performances.

“It’s probably not a bad time to be in good form going into this period. If you have form and confidence in your favour, then hopefully there will be a good end to it.

“I have always wanted us to push as high as we could. It’s not so long ago we were in quite a difficult position, so I think the fact that’s even being talked about is testament to what the group has done over the last three months. We’ll just try to win as many games as we can and see where it takes us, but it’s an exciting period for us because we have some good league games in terms of the teams round about us and a cup quarter-final.

“We knew this was a defining part of our season, would determine if it drifted away or was exciting and at the moment we are going the right way in making it exciting.”