Michael Weir: Hibs have had third laid on a plate for them - now is the time to take it

How Hibs are still in the race for third is beyond me. If Aberdeen had found any sort of form over the last couple of weeks they would have overtaken Hibs.

Hibs played nice football against St Johnstone but didn't pose enough of a goal threat

That’s worrying for me. This is the part of the season when it’s all up for grabs. Hibs have to be stronger, to get over the line.

Against St Johnstone they looked good on the eye, they played a lot of nice football, but it means nothing to be playing attractive stuff if you’re not getting the result.

This is the time of the season where results are all that counts.

And Hibs badly need a win to get them going again. I expect Aberdeen to have another run at this, especially with a new manager in place after Derek McInnes going.

The players might get a lift from that, or they might not. It might end up working for Hibs.

But they cannot keep losing football matches and expect to still get into Europe.

Ross needs players to step up

Jack Ross has been criticised a bit for the defeats and results are always on the shoulders of the manager but in fairness to him, he has changed things quite a lot over the season when he feels the side haven’t produced. He’s not been scared to shake things up.

But the players have to look at themselves. How much do they really want it? How much do they really want to get into Europe?

It boils down to the fact that Hibs have to be beating teams like Motherwell and St Johnstone. Think back to that dip midway through the season when they lost at home to a number of teams below them. Those results have put extra pressure on the side now.

Other teams know Hibs’ weak spot

Hibs should be winning those games, if they have any ambition to get in to Europe. The manager can put the team out and set it up but it is up to the players to produce the goods and show that they actually want to qualify for European competition.

They were poor against Motherwell and although they created chances against St Johnstone, they didn’t really carry a goal threat throughout the entire game.

And other teams are playing on that. They know that if they can get in front of Hibs, then they’re going to struggle to come back.

Hibs need to start winning games, and they need to start winning soon. They can’t keep slipping up.

They have had it laid on a plate for them time and time again and they need to finally get over the line by doing whatever it takes to get results.

Pitch concerns?

I know there were some comments about the surface at St Johnstone but the pitch is the same for both teams.

Not every pitch is going to be perfect. If you start scrabbling for excuses when you haven't won, like blaming the pitch, that suggests a weak mentality to me.

It’s just something you have to deal with. In all the games you play, you have to find a way to win, whether it's the teams you come up against or the surfaces you're playing on – especially if you're trying to get into Europe.

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