Michael Weir: I had Dingwall doubts, but Jack Ross and Hibs deserve credit for facing pressure head on

As Jack Ross said, it is something they have not done enough this season but I liked the fact he didn’t try to shield them from how important the game was, instead he told them it was one of the biggest games of the season and then watched to see how they dealt with that pressure. Sometimes, you have to do that; you have to put pressure on players to see how they react.

People have questioned that side of things this season and I will be honest, when Ross County took the lead I thought ‘oh no, here we go again’. The same thing will have gone through the players’ thoughts as well, and the manager’s words, describing the game as one of the most important of the season, will also have been going through their minds. But they decided to show any of us who doubted them that they have made progress and they handled that pressure. The best teams are able to develop and they proved they have done that because they were able to come back and win.

They didn’t let their heads go down or just accept defeat, they immediately fought back and, in the process they demonstrated that they are stronger than they were earlier in the season and that they have more resilience and can deal with big games.

It was a massive three points in a game I had described as ‘must-win’ in the battle for third. Now we are six points ahead with six games left and that is a huge advantage going into the split.

There is still work to be done, though, and they players should be confident but not complacent.

If they had lost on Saturday, they would have handed the initiative to Aberdeen, who will have been hoping they would slip up, especially up in Dingwall, which is a really tough place to go. But winning means Hibs now have the momentum. A couple more wins and it’s all over. Hopefully the first will come against Livingston this weekend.

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