HIBERNIAN head coach Neil Lennon insists recent results should be taken into context as they prepare for the visit of Ross County.
The Easter Road side have taken just one point from their last three Premiership outings but Lennon pointed out the draw was against champions Celtic and the defeats came against Rangers and Aberdeen.
“Let’s get it right, we had three games in six days against the top three,” said Lennon, whose side face Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Kilmarnock before the end of the year.
“I thought we played excellent in two out of the three games last week. I thought we ran out of steam against Aberdeen. I am not overly concerned.
“It will be nice to get back to winning ways. It is not going to be easy but we have another big week coming up with three games in a week. But we are looking to get back to winning ways.
“I don’t think there is a lot wrong with the level of performance. We have Ross County, Hearts – that will take care of itself – and Kilmarnock, who are going very well. So we have three great games to get our teeth into.”
Lennon revealed that second-choice goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw has had surgery to cure a shoulder problem and will be out “for quite a considerable period of time”.
The former Celtic boss, who has been linked with Dundee’s out-of-favour keeper Scott Bain, said: “That’s an area we will look to in January. We are going to be linked with a lot of players in a lot of positions.
“I can’t do anything about speculation, we just need to wait and see but it is an area we would look at it.”
Defender Lewis Stevenson insists Hibs’ confidence remains high.
The defender, who has handed 23 charities in Edinburgh a £500 Hibs club shop gift voucher from money raised from his testimonial game against Sunderland, said: “We wanted to pick up more points than we did in the last three games. “The only thing we can do now is go on a good run and we have games that on paper are supposed to be easier but I am sure when it comes to it, it won’t be the case.”
“But we are confident in the squad that we can go on a good run now.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here