'Really wonderful' Hibs claim as 'courageous' football backed to come good ahead of Hearts Hampden clash
Three games, three losses - but Chaiwa convinced wins are coming for new boss
Hibs midfielder Miguel Chaiwa believes his team are capable of doing something “really wonderful” by sticking to Marink Reedijk’s master plan. And he has thanked fans for supporting the team despite their failure to get a result under the new gaffer.
Dutch coach Reedijk has seen his team suffer losses to Dundee United, Falkirk and now Celtic in his first three games at the helm. Yesterday’s 2-1 home defeat to the reigning champions saw Hibs turn in their best performance under new management – only for an own goal and a slip to hand victory to the league leaders.
St Mirren in Paisley on Wednesday night is the next fixture on the dance card for a side stuck to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table. And that’s just a warm-up for Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Hearts at Hampden.
‘Mistakes’ cost Hibs against Celtic
Chaiwa saw definite signs of improvement yesterday, claiming that his team had gone “toe-to-toe” with Celtic. And he believes that applause from the home fans at full-time showed that supporters are buying into Reedijk’s ambitious vision.
“I think it's what we're trying to do,” said Chaiwa. “Even the gaffer spoke in the pre-meeting today.
“What he's trying to do to this team is a really, really wonderful thing. Being courageous, and always being in control of the ball. I really, really appreciate the fans for giving us that applause.
“Being more in control with the ball and knowing what we want to do with the ball. For us, it's more like a clear factor for the team.
St Mirren away and Hearts at Hampden
“Looking at how the gaffer wants us to play, it's really happening on the pitch. The performance has improved. I know we must stay positive and believe in what we're doing right now at the moment. I know it has been really, really hard for this club.
“For us, going toe-to-toe against Celtic, despite our own mistakes, we're looking forward to the next game. I definitely think we’re close to getting results.
“I see some positives, really good positives in looking at the way we are going as a team. We're trying to stick together each and every time and we just need to improve on our mistakes, like how they scored the two goals.”
Laughing as he insisted that he wasn’t qualified to judge Grant Hanley’s performance as a stand-in striker later in the loss to Celtic, Chaiwa is already looking ahead to the next challenges, saying: “Yeah, quite right, it is a huge week for the club. We are already looking forward to that one (the semi-final) because, like I said, this game is now done and dusted.
“We just need to take the positives because we have a game against St Mirren so we just need to be fully focused, and not repeat our mistakes like what happened against Celtic. We are trying to be together, being positive as a group.”