Jason Naismith: Hibs face a test of character in wake of give-away goals

Jason Naismith is braced for a stern test from on-form Aberdeen at Easter Road tomorrow as Hibs look to bounce back from their recent setbacks.

The Easter Road side have taken just one point from their past two games against Kilmarnock and Ross County despite leading both matches going into the closing half hour.

Aberdeen arrive in Edinburgh this weekend buoyed by a spirited performance in their 2-2 draw with Rangers at Pittodrie on Wednesday. Derek McInnes’s side remain third in the Premiership and are unbeaten in their last six matches, four of which have ended in

victory.

Naismith knows his team face a test of character as they aim to get back on track after suffering their first league defeat since September away to County on Wednesday.

“Aberdeen were the second best team in Scotland for a while until last year and they’re obviously one of the top teams in the league,” said the Hibs right-back.

“Derek McInnes will have them fired up coming to Easter Road. We need to analyse what happened on Wednesday and then put it behind us because it was our first defeat in ten league games.

“We need to move on and try and get back on a winning run.”

That will be easier said than done, however, as tomorrow’s match represents the start of a formidable four-game series for Hibs against the Premiership’s other big-city clubs - Aberdeen, Celtic, Rangers and Hearts.

Manager Ross is confident his team are equipped to overcome their recent setbacks and deal with the tests at hand. “We go into a really hard run of games now but we’re looking forward to it,” said the Hibs boss. “Aberdeen have consistently challenged at the top end of the table and they had another good result against Rangers that shows how competitive they are. It’s a different type of game to what we had on Wednesday but it’s another tough game.”