Jack Ross keen to add to Aberdeen misery as Hibs boss urges players not to dwell on Dundee United defeat

Jack Ross insists his Hibs players have drawn a line under last weekend’s defeat by Dundee United – but will be judged on their performance against Aberdeen on Saturday.

Jack Ross is keen that his players don't dwell on last week's defeat by Dundee United

The Dons haven’t had their issues to seek recently having lost their last five games and chairman Dave Cormack delivered an impassioned defence of the players and manager Stephen Glass during an appearance on BBC Radio Scotland programme Sportsound during the week.

But while Ross has the 'utmost respect’ for his opposite number, he is keen to pile on the pressure by leading his side to victory at Pittodrie, revealing that there has been plenty of discussion about what went wrong last time out.

"The players understand when we fall short of the levels we are normally at,” he said as he previewed his side’s trip to the Granite City.

“It’s about the reaction. They have trained well this week but ultimately it’s judged on what they produce on Saturday.

“It’s important they don’t dwell on one really poor performance in amongst what generally have been a lot of positive performances this season.”

The Easter Road boss expressed his anger at his side’s ‘lazy and selfish’ display last weekend but conceded that as manager, he is not infallible.

“In the aftermath of any disappointment, you have to be prepared to be straight with the players but also accept when you get things wrong as well,” he added.

“I’m almost 300 games into management but I will still make mistakes or poor choices, or give poor instructions. It’s about players trusting that you are open enough to admit mistakes.

“We have a lot of discussion both as a group and individually with players in which I’m prepared to accept criticism as well.

“There’s encouragement of them to take ownership of all sorts of situations. I’m not abdicating responsibility because my role will always be the one that leads, directs and guides.

“But I welcome opinion, I welcome debate – certainly in the aftermath of a disappointing game.

“It was very unlike us. You lose games; that happens to any team at any point. But the manner of the performance was very much out of sync with what we produce.”

Ross has already defeated Glass at Pittodrie before, a 1-0 win in May securing third place for Hibs last term, and he is keen for a repeat performance.

“Football management has always been a tough job, particularly nowadays when the want for change is frequent. Opinion can vary so much on the back of one or two disappointing results.

“Stephen has my full respect but I want to add to his challenges by winning the game on Saturday. In terms of everything else, I’ve got the utmost respect for him being prepared to do the job he is in at the moment.

"The focus has always been on us delivering a performance that is much more like us. I know the focus will be on Stephen and his team's position and their mindset but for us, on the back of last week's game, it made no difference who we were playing this weekend.

"It's just about a performance that's much more in keeping with what we've done recently. Irrespective of the state of mind of the opposition, it's important we do that.”

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