Shaun Maloney reveals what he and the fans need to see from this Hibs team

Hibs boss Shaun Maloney insists his side will have to continue showing the intensity and fight on display in Tuesday’s Edinburgh derby if they are to finish in the European places this season.

The successor to Jack Ross was recruited in December after supporters had groan tired of perceived negative tactics under the previous incumbent and the new man immediately caught the attention of the Easter Road faithful with talk of attacking flair and expansive football.

Instantly the shift was noticeable with Maloney shaping the team into a wide 3-4-3 formation and putting further emphasis on defenders starting attacks from the back. This was deployed in his opening match, a 1-0 win over Aberdeen, before Hibs dominated Dundee United in a 3-1 triumph at Tannadice in their final match of 2021.

Since returning from the New Year, however, things haven’t gone according to plan. A limp 2-0 defeat at Celtic Park was followed by a startlingly poor performance in the 1-0 after-extra-time win over Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup. They then followed this up with a goalless draw at Motherwell before a 3-2 home loss, despite leading twice, against Livingston last weekend.

It seemed like Hibs were, yet again, a bit of a soft touch. It’s a label that’s followed them around Scottish football for years. Attractive football was the aim, but ultimately did it come at the cost of winning consistently against sides they were supposed to be beating?

Though early games painted Maloney as someone perhaps a little dogmatic in his approach, with Hibs enjoying plenty of possession but sometimes struggling to test opposition goalkeepers, he insists he wants his side to be as gritty as they are exciting – at least until he’s had the chance to develop the first-team squad into a real attacking menace.

“I don't feel that stereotype but I understand the history and tradition,” he said of the ‘soft touch’ label prior to Saturday’s visit of St Mirren. “A lot of supporters have spoken about that over the past couple of days but I think in any sport you have to compete. If you don’t then you are not going to win as many matches as you can. I think if we’re going to compete for the fourth position, we have to bring what we brought on Tuesday to every match.

“The way that I see the game is what I consider the best way to win in the long run. But the biggest thing the other night was the mentality and desire not to get beat. I love really attacking football but I also really love the other side of it and I love the competitiveness we showed.

Hibs manager Shaun Maloney during training ahead of this weekend's cinch Premiership match with St Mirren. Picture: SNS

“When you are the coach it is really difficult to always focus on the outcome. I am desperate to have a really positive result tomorrow but I really want to see what I saw the other night in terms of performance. I have to look at the performance and the way we attacked with the same energy we defended and the desire not to concede, the desire to win tackles and really come out on top in physical duels. I want to see the same thing in every game. I want to see that fight.

“Listen, I love a certain style of football and I want something that is similar to the tradition the club has had before, a certain style, a certain romance, I love that, but at the moment we are not there.”

Dozens of passes may have been strung together against Livingston, but ultimately the team were jeered off by the home faithful following the loss. Three days later saw a reserval. Patiently-built moves were at a premium as blood-and-thunder counter-attacking took over, yet the team were roundly applauded before leaving the field.

“They saw a group of players who fought for their teammates, fought for the staff but the big thing was that they really fought for the badge,” said Maloney.

"I want to see that in every game what I saw and felt between the players and the support was really, really special. I want to see that again. From my point of view they really, really fought for each other as team-mates and in terms of the support, I think that whatever we gave the support, they gave us back even more and it felt like a really different and special moment.

“There will be matches where we win and matches where we don’t. But, we drew the game and the players got applauded off the pitch. If my players give that level of desire then I’m sure the connection between them and the fans will be absolutely great.”

A new face among the substitutes in midweek was Sylvester Jasper. The loan signing from Fulham was announced right after the January transfer window closed and could make his bow later on today, though Maloney warned a little bit of patience is required with the man they signed to try and replicate Martin Boyle’s impact after the fan favourite sealed his lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.

“He just brings a different profile. When we talk about attacking with intensity and speed, when we lost Martin there’s a big part of that goes,” said Jesper’s new boss.

“It’s up to me obviously to find different ways to attack, but with Sylvester his attributes are one V one and speed over 15, 20 metres.

“We have to bring him in and slowly try to let him adapt, but that’s what he’s going to bring to the squad. I want him when he plays to just be as free as he can and try to create as much as he can.

“So far he’s trained really well, so I hope we get to see him as quickly as possible, really.”

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