Not
giving up just yet!
Frenchman looking to stay as Semi Final tickets go on sale....
A FEW DAYS AGO I NOTICED A THREAD ON THE
HIBS.NET MESSAGEBOARD ASKING IF Hibs fans had given up on this
season, as we appear to be getting rather negative and pessimistic about
things, and coming off the wrong end of the game on Saturday has
probably done very little to lighten our hopes. Personally I am
frustrated by the twists and turns of this season, where it seems that a
decent result is immediately countered by a bad one. That having been
said, most of the rest of the SPL outside the top and bottom two must be
feeling exactly the same way. This is why I am of the opinion it’s too
early to give up hope just yet – A win on Saturday with results going
our way could put us sixth, although last Saturday it could have put us
fifth and a win against Dunfermline before Christmas would have seen us
go fourth. What has to happen is that Hibs go on a consistent run of
form and get three or four good results in a row, rather like we did in
November of 2002, with three home wins and a win away to Thistle. Such a
run in a league as inconsistent as the one we are currently in would see
us motor up the table.
That having been said, I am getting worried because we currently sit
eighth and if we were to lose on Saturday with other results going
against us, we could be eleventh, three points separating us from the
current occupiers of that spot, Aberdeen. With a number of matches
coming up against teams who are struggling in the SPL, most notably
Kilmarnock on Saturday, with Dundee visiting us at Easter Road at the
end of the month and then Dundee United away after that, we have the
opportunity to do that before Hearts visit on February 15th.
In addition there is also the small matter of the CIS Cup Semi-Final
against Rangers to contend with. Things will look a lot clearer by the
time Aberdeen visit on February 28th, and if we are below
them in the SPL and out the CIS Cup, I will pretty much have given up on
the season, although if we are below Aberdeen in the league, I will be
still be interested because we’d be very near the foot of the division.
Reid - versatility his problem? (sns)
Why I am pessimistic is partly a result of what I feared would happen
against Livingston – Hibs worked very hard and had a good share of the
possession, but conceded the first goal and struggled after that,
although Riordan was unlucky to hit the bar. The second half was
particularly woeful as Hibs inexperienced youngsters struggled to create
against a physical Livi defence and some awful refereeing, Underhill
turning in one of the worst performances in living memory. Grant Brebner
or Stephen Glass would probably have provided the spark of quality that
Fernandez provided Livingston, and with the former out till the end of
the season and the latter looking increasingly injury-prone (he seems to
have spent as much time injured as he has available in his time at
Easter Road), I worry that we will struggle in games where we go behind
and then the opposition decides to shut up shop and pack its defence.
The current injury crisis has presented opportunities to fringe players,
Jarkko Wiss stepping back into the first team on Saturday, and Kevin
Nicol and Alan Reid also playing their part in recent games. Alan Reid
in particular will be relishing the opportunity, his current contract
expiring at the end of the season. Reid has been with the club for
a long time, signing ‘S’ forms when Jocky Scott was Hibs manager and
making his first team debut in 1999 replacing Franck Sauzee in a 3-0 win
over Airdrie. Despite showing considerable promise, the utility man has
struggled, making just sixteen appearances, all as a substitute.
Reid made the latest of his appearances from the bench as he replaced
the injured Kevin Thomson after just 20 minutes of Saturday’s match
against Livingston, again displaying his versatility as he slotted in at
right wing-back. Indeed, the versatile youngster has played for the
under-21 side at left-back and left wing, and has played as a substitute
striker for the first team in a number of games, most recently in the
3-2 win over Thistle at Easter Road.
Indeed, Reid is the first to admit that his
adaptability may cause him problems in holding down a first-team spot,
as he is regarded as an invaluable substitute, something that seemed to
befall Derek Townsley in the latter stages of his Hibs career.
He
said: "I wonder sometimes whether my versatility can work both for and
against me. Because I don’t specialise in any one position I don’t
challenge for a particular place in the team. It perhaps hinders me
because I can do an ample job in a variety of positions but the flipside
is that I’m often included in the pool because I can cover a number of
positions if things go wrong on the pitch. I think the manager
appreciates I can play a number of positions and that’s perhaps made me
handy to have at a time when we have a lot of injuries. I also believe
he appreciates I am a good professional, I work hard in training and in
the under-21 matches and hope to get the rewards by being involved with
the first team.”
Turning back to Saturday, Bobby Williamson is hoping that Kevin Thomson
and Stephen Dobbie will be fit for Saturday’s match against Kilmarnock,
Thomson sustaining a calf injury that caused him to be carried off on a
stretcher and Dobbie suffering from concussion after a head knock. Both
players are currently training with the physio and their progress is
being monitored.
One man staying for the
time being is Paul Fenwick. Partick Thistle co-manager Gerry Britton has
confirmed that they have given up on trying to sign the veteran Canadian
International defender. Britton had hoped that the veteran Canadian
international would join the Jags on loan until the end of the season as
they battle against relegation, but found Hibs unwilling to co-operate.
"The Paul Fenwick deal looks dead at the moment. It is up to Hibs if
they wish to bring it back to life and we are looking elsewhere to
supplement our team.".
