Michael Weir: Hibs can overcome bumps in the road like Motherwell stalemate

High expectations mean decent results are often overlooked, writes Michael Weir

Melker Hallberg vies for the ball with Motherwell's David Turnbull

Hibs didn’t really get going on Saturday, and I thought Motherwell were the better team across the piece. Sometimes you just have to take your medicine.

I thought it was going to be a tricky game beforehand, especially because Motherwell haven’t started the season all that well.

Easter Road is a good stadium to come to and play football, they needed to get some sort of result, came out all guns blazing, and I always felt it was a game where they might sneak something.

On the day they played well, and Hibs didn’t play well. Hibs are going to have days like that with the personnel changes; Jack Ross has brought in one or two younger players and some new faces to build his own team and it could take a while for them to settle.

They started the season well but there will be bumps in the road. When a manager is trying to build a new team and get them to settle in, that can sometimes happen.

It’s just a matter now of getting back on it and getting going again. I think the credit must go to Motherwell – they looked decent on the day and when they have everybody fit, they’re a decent side.

I can understand Hibs fans feeling unhappy; because Hibs won the first three games, their expectations were high, but the team just has to take it on the chin.

There will be days like Saturday but Hibs have still started the season well – it’s just that Motherwell turned up on the day and Hibs didn’t.

Of course Hibs should be looking to win at home, and get another three points on the board, but it doesn’t always work like that.

The players did really well in the first three games, they’ve had a bad one, but that’s going to happen when the team’s still being worked on.

I think Jack is still trying to figure out his best team, and get the right formula and line-up to play certain games – Hibs are still a work in progress, put it that way.

For me, Hibs need more from the middle of the pitch. I’ve said that numerous times recently. I think they need a stronger base to work from.

Hibs are great on the eye when it matters but every manager needs a certain balance to his team, and Jack knows that. I think, given the players he’s been in for, he has an idea of what he wants.

It’s important to remember that he has lost a fair few players in the middle of the park like Greg Docherty and Stephane Omeonga.

It's always the same though; when you win three in a row, or four in a row, expectations go through the roof.

There’s still room for improvement and I think Jack knows that. Winning the first three games may not have been the best thing to happen to the club in terms of the expectations from fans who are expecting the team to kick on, but I always thought Motherwell would be a difficult game.

Hibs are still unbeaten though, it’s just the performance level that was disappointing. The will was there, but the performance wasn’t, and that’s something Jack will work on.

There were plenty of decent signs, and one bad performance isn’t the end of the world. There are always going to be wee bumps along the way and I think that’s what Saturday was.

Things had gone smoothly for Hibs before the Motherwell game and what matters now is how the players react to it.