The dust has settled on defeat to Dumbarton….
So the dust has settled and the mediocrity of Hibs display on Saturday has been largely erased from our minds yet the nagging suspicion that it was the stumble before the fall seems to remain.
Of course it’s easy to over analyse any defeat and especially one against an outfit you’d expect to defeat comfortably however as Hibs fans déjà vu plays a large part in supporting the club.
We’ve certainly all been here before. In the not so distant past we’ve lost to unheralded outfits such as Alloa, Stranraer, Ayr United and Raith Rovers when the club were a Premiership outfit therefore it shouldn’t come as a surprise to get the occasional kick in the thrupenny bits.
The manner of defeat was infuriating no doubt to fans, players and management alike and whilst many so called stars of this division effectively failed to deliver it’s not like we haven’t seen that particular script before.
If we can take any crumbs of comfort from the loss then Alan Stubbs comments today regarding players ‘needing to take a look at themselves’ will surely see those perennial under achievers lift their performance standards to an acceptable level for all concerned.
Obviously we are still struggling in terms of match fitness throughout the squad, in particular the new signings, who are all at varying levels of readiness for the season’s campaign.
It is frustrating to see so many still injured or not quite at the required level to perform to their capabilities but time is in short supply with a visit to Ibrox ahead of us in two weeks where, even at this early stage of the season, defeat would see Rangers probably go six points clear of Hibs and hand the ‘Gers a wonderful psychological boost.
At least Stubbs is aware of the shortcomings and one would hope to see a new arrival at the club this week with the preference being a central defender so the team can return to the preferred 3-5-2 formation.
Hibs are pretty lightweight in numbers at the back with the four who started on Saturday facing little competition so a mixture of the manager’s criticisms and a new face could prove to be the motivation required to up the ante.
Should Mark Oxley or Lewis Stevenson fail to deliver this weekend against Morton then it’s easily conceivable both could be dropped for the trip to Glasgow as both have been performing well under par in their three outings this season.
