Hibs must be battle ready, says Pat Fenlon

PAT FENLON has warned his players if they’re not up for a battle tomorrow, there’s no point even turning up in Inverness.

The Easter Road side make the trip north to face Terry Butcher’s men and Fenlon insists they will have to ‘scrap’ for crucial SPL points.

Caley hold an eight-point cushion over Hibs in the league table, and Fenlon believes great credit must go to boss Terry Butcher for the fighting spirit he has instilled in his squad.

Fenlon has told his side they must match Caley’s commitment if they are to bring all three points back to Edinburgh and admitted: “It is the type of place where if you don’t fancy the scrap, there’s no point going up, and we’ve discussed that ourselves this week. The football match will take care of itself, but we’ve got to make sure that we’re as committed and give as much as their players.”

Hibs’ fight for SPL survival appears a two-way fight with bottom side Dunfermline, who travel to Tannadice to take on Dundee United this afternoon. Next weekend, the Pars will again play 24 hours ahead of Hibs – against Hearts at East End Park – while the Hibees host Motherwell on Sunday lunchtime.

Fenlon admitted he would rather see all games during the run-in kicking off at the same time. He accepts TV cash is currently the biggest influence on the Scottish game but said: “That’s probably the way it’s going to be over the next five or six games. It’s out of our control, and it’s probably not helpful for either club, but it’s the way football is at the moment. We’ve had 14 different kick-off times, which is madness, but money and TV dictates that, so we just have to get on with it.

“You would have thought that would have been the easy way to do it, but you just have to get on with it.”