PERHAPS IT IS STATING THE OBVIOUS A BIT, but for me the first step in dealing with any crisis is perhaps recognising that you have one.  Hibernian's army of loyal fans have to a large degree been guilty of maybe not recognising the crisis that has been there for some months, and in that I would include myself, a life-long Hibs fan with a vicious optimistic streak that seems to very much go with the pride of wearing green and white.

With just one month of the year left, Hibs fans are starting to look back on the year and questioning not only their own judgement, but just how they could be so easily hoodwinked into thinking that everything in the Easter Road garden was rosy.  Perhaps it was the fact that Hibs scythed their way to a Scottish Cup final, perhaps we were simply side-tracked as the Russell Latapy drama unfolded.  Could it have been that attention was drawn in awe to the new structure appearing in the west of the stadium, admiring eyes watching the monster grow each day when these same eyes might have been better employed at seeing what was actually happening on the green bit between the stands?

There were plenty who were warning of doom and gloom that was not just over the horizon, but actually at the doorstep.  They were discounted of course, discounted because we could see effort on the park, there was no need to panic when a few results did not go our way because after all, we were playing well, the squad was becoming strong again and the breaks would soon come.  Indeed, to an extent the very same mentality shown by Hibs fans, players and officials alike when Hibernian slowly sank from the astonishing heights of leading the Premier League to relegation in just a few months.  Are we then, most of us at least, guilty of being caught not once, but twice?  Are we guilty of ignoring all the signs yet again, allowing our own optimism to blind us to another crisis in the making?

Happier times for Alex McLeish - he has much to ponder (sns)

Who can possibly question the value of the Hibernian coaching staff, led by a manager who at last seemed to be attuned to the fans and their needs.  Alex McLeish led Hibernian away from some of the darkest hours faced by the club, along the way he made a few mistakes and was the first to hold his hand up when he did, something that every Hibs fan has admired about the man.  Any football fan will forgive and forget mistakes be they from player or management or even boardroom, but only so long as these mistakes are nullified by positive decisions.  For the Hibs boss, minor errors in signing some players who were little more than a brief burden on the wage bill were more than compensated for by the likes of Sauzee, Latapy, Laursen, Orman and, although the jury is still very much out on this one, Ulises de la Cruz.

"Hibs are closer to the relegation area than those challenging for a place in Europe...."

In this column just a few weeks ago, I pointed out that the forthcoming games against Aberdeen and Livingston were a defining moment in Hibs season.  I should have said not only Hibs season, I should have said a defining moment in the relationship between Alex McLeish and the Hibs support.  These two games have now gone by with 2-0 and 3-0 defeats, leaving Hibs closer to the relegation area than those challenging for a place in Europe.  That is just the stark realities of the situation, the bare facts - we have to face these facts, from the high point of last season and the feel-good factor it generated, we now must face the simple fact that Hibernian are simply not good enough to compete for Europe.  A few weeks ago, like many Hibs fans I could easily claim this as a temporary blip, all will come good, and no doubt at some point Hibs will turn the corner, but the truth is that is not going to come quickly - why should it, this is a crisis that lends it's roots to the beginning of this year.

Time to recognise we are in something of a crisis? (sns)

Why then a defining moment in the relationship between Alex McLeish and the Hibs support?  Quite simply in the understanding of the decisions being taken by the boss.  We have all of us understood most moves by the manager, but right at this moment, when Hibs are struggling through a crisis of confidence on and off the field, we are at times left baffled.  A good example came in the Livingston game, as Hibs for one brief period in the second half gave cause for hope.  Paco Luna and Craig Brewster had Livi on the racks for about five minutes, but that came to an end when Luna was dragged from the park to be replaced by David Zitelli.  The moment had gone, and Hibs did not threaten again.

The obvious question had to be asked - why was Luna taken off?  Alex McLeish was not around to provide an explanation, that job being left to his assistant Andy Watson who explained: "Paco was booked for an off the ball incident, we knew that he had been pretty passionate about something and we could not take the chance with being 2-0 down and something happening that left us down to 10 men.  It was at a time when we were starting to get a bit of momentum going, and David came on - he is experienced and did well."  A similar decision then to the one that led to Craig Brewster being substituted against Hearts, on a day when the striker was giving the Tynecastle defence all sorts of problems.  Then however Hibs were 2-0 up and cruising, the decision was a correct one, this time we were 2-0 down and struggling, so it mattered little if Luna had been ordered off, it was surely worth the gamble?

Another worrying aspect for Hibs fans is that while as supporters we might now be coming out of our slumber and admitting there is a problem, there are as yet few signs from Easter Road that such a problem exists.  Again this was underlined by Andy Watson's insisting that there was not that much wrong with Hibs performance against Livingston, when he said: "Obviously we are disappointed to have lost 3-0 at home, no doubt about that.  I felt that in the opening stages of the game we were passing the ball quite well and getting into forward positions but again like against Aberdeen last week without getting any penetration out of it.  I thought we kept the ball and were pretty much in the Livingston half.  The first goal was a good strike.  Somebody mentioned that earlier that we were woeful and I could not agree with that."  It might perhaps have been better to hear a bit of honesty.  Hibs have been woeful in each of the last three games, three games that have produced not one goal, and if ever there was a time for one of the management team to admit the fact, this was it.  The opportunity was not taken, and while I would agree that you always have to look at the positives in any game, win or lose, there also comes a point when you have to recognise the fact that the positives are being drowned out by ineptitude.

The first stage of recovering from a crisis is recognising you are in one.