Jack Ross laments 'worst version of Hibs' after Dundee United defeat

Jack Ross believes his Hibs players didn’t work hard enough in all aspects of their play after Saturday’s 3-0 reversal at home to Dundee United.

Jack Ross branded his players 'lazy' after their 3-0 defeat by Dundee United

Nicky Clark fired the visitors in front on the stroke of half-time with Ryan Edwards doubling their advantage early in the second half before full-back Kieran Freeman swept home a third as Tam Courts’ side blew Hibs away in the Capital.

"It was the worst version of ourselves. We strive to be the best we can, today we were lazy, slow, and selfish in our play and when you do that, you produce that type of performance and subsequently result so no argument with the scoreline,” Ross said afterwards.

"We deserved to lose the game, deserved to lose it in that manner. We were way below the standards we’ve been at for a long time and now we’ve got to respond to that.”

Asked for his opinion on why the performance had been so dismal, Ross responded: “That’s a question I’ll have to find the answer to over the course of the week.

"If it was easy to provide an immediate answer to that then we’d all be geniuses. It was just way below the standards we’re normally at, and have been consistently.

“It was the worst version of ourselves and that’s why we were on the end of that type of result.”

Conceding that such a lacklustre display was very unusual from his team, Ross insisted that he would take his share of the blame.

"They didn’t work hard enough in all aspects of their play and I told them that.

"It’s not like them but it shouldn’t deter from us getting criticism. I say we, because it’s my responsibility, my instruction, team selection, decisions etc.

"The driver for me is to make Hibs a team that consistently finishes in the area of the table we did last year, not have one season like that and then drift.

"If we produce that type of performance then we will drift. We’ve received a lot of plaudits and deservedly so, and on the back of that performance we’ll receive a lot of criticism and deservedly so.

"It’s the way in which we respond to that, both as a staff and players, that’s important.”

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