'Terrific types' - Jack Ross revels in Hibs win but explains why he is not getting carried away
Hibs manager Jack Ross was thrilled with his side’s performance in their 4-0 demolition of Hamilton and the fact that it allowed them to move into second place in the Premiership – but he is not getting carried away.
With three games in hand, Celtic can come back at the Easter Road club, yet Hibs are not making life easy for anyone.
It was definitely a difficult afternoon for Accies as Hibs reproduced the second-half form from last weekend’s victory over Motherwell and, arguably, improved on it, earning the right to leapfrog the defending champions come the final whistle.
“We anticipated a difficult match because teams find it hard here. It was important to win the game, first and foremost, but the performance was really good, and to keep a clean sheet and score four goals, is a good afternoon,” said Ross, who became the first Hibs boss to have his side sitting second this deep into the season since Alex McLeish in 2000/01.
“It's nice for the fans. For them to look at the table and see themselves in that position after 17 league games is brilliant. It might only be for 24 hours, but it's a reflection on how the players have done this season so far. It's up to them to be relentless in their work and replicate that in the second half of the season.
“It's been a good season, but it's only been a half-season. But if we could just stop it now it would be brilliant.
“I inherited a group who are terrific types, they're really good to work with and we've added good players who are good characters. We're a group who get on really well and we've a real common goal this season. It's not always been as comfortable as this in terms of it all clicking together.”
But, in Hamilton, with four goals from Martin Boyle, Christian Doidge, Paul McGinn and Kevin Nisbet, and a strong defensive display, everything came together and they now turn to Betfred Cup duty on Tuesday night against Alloa with a sense of purpose and potency.