'If the players are saving themselves for the final they're kidding themselves'

[He's here!]

Sorry if this quote Alex Neil made at last night's game has already been picked up somewhere in the other threads but I thought it worth highlighting.

Do players tend to think this way? ie are they more interested in personal glory than doing their job on a game-by-game basis? I read (I think in the BBC report) that some of the Hibs players looked shocked by the reaction when they tried to come over and applaud the furious fans last night. Do they really think that those hardy souls who turned up on a Wednesday night in Livingston were really going to pat them on the back and say 'Don't worry lads, you're in a cup final so it doesn't matter that you don't try a leg in these sort of games.'

No journalist ever seems to ask players these sort of questions ie we'll probably just get the usual 'we're gutted we've let the boss down, didn't turn up, try to win the cup for the gaffer' etc comments. But how many of them genuinely give a ******? What I'd really like to hear them being asked is questions like 'Do you think if you'd applied yourself better to this sort of game then Jack Ross might still be in a job?'

[Jim44]

Sorry if this quote Alex Neil made at last night's game has already been picked up somewhere in the other threads but I thought it worth highlighting.

Do players tend to think this way? ie are they more interested in personal glory than doing their job on a game-by-game basis? I read (I think in the BBC report) that some of the Hibs players looked shocked by the reaction when they tried to come over and applaud the furious fans last night. Do they really think that those hardy souls who turned up on a Wednesday night in Livingston were really going to pat them on the back and say 'Don't worry lads, you're in a cup final so it doesn't matter that you don't try a leg in these sort of games.'

No journalist ever seems to ask players these sort of questions ie we'll probably just get the usual 'we're gutted we've let the boss down, didn't turn up, try to win the cup for the gaffer' etc comments. But how many of them genuinely give a ******? What I'd really like to hear them being asked is questions like 'Do you think if you'd applied yourself better to this sort of game then Jack Ross might still be in a job?'

If any players are focussed on the Cup Final, which we will almost certainly lose, to the detriment of league performances and results, they should get a boot up the erchie.

[bigwheel]

I had an ex pro (and ex Hibs) say to me a few weeks ago that he worried that the final would be a major distraction for the players in their leagues games . His view was that the players wouldn’t be at it [emoji817], as they wouldn’t want to risk picking up a knock and missing the final ….

Being just ten percent of it in this league, is the difference between winning and losing ….

I dismissed his view a little when he said it - I shouldn’t have

[MWHIBBIES]

I don't think you can reach any serious level as a professional footballer by picking and chosing what games you fancy. Total nonsense IMO.

[HH81]

What was hibs form in the league prior to the cup final last season?

[Springbank]

What was hibs form in the league prior to the cup final last season?

I know this season we have lost 7 of 9

That's unacceptable

[Sir David Gray]

What was hibs form in the league prior to the cup final last season?

Assume you mean the League Cup semi final?

If so we were sitting 3rd after 24 matches and on 40 points.

[He's here!]

I don't think you can reach any serious level as a professional footballer by picking and chosing what games you fancy. Total nonsense IMO.

I wasn't there last night but by most accounts the players didn't appear to fancy it. Going back way before Ross, we seem to lose far more of these unglamorous midweek winter away games (particularly trips to the Highlands) than we should. That's always struck me as bizarre because if players don't like travelling to these places midweek I'd have thought the mentality would be 'let's just make sure we make the trip worthwhile'.

One exception to that I recall was the midweek after we lost the League Cup final to Ross County. We had to travel to Inverness for a Scottish Cup replay which I think the majority of fans would have seen as an almost inevitable defeat yet we dug out a solid 2-0 win. That, I felt, showed that the side had good mental strength. The current side followed up our semi-final win over Rangers with a midweek loss at County.

If you don't think players pick and choose what games they fancy, does it simply come down to the manager being unable to coax the performance out of them that he's looking for?

[hibee1875]

No journalist ever seems to ask players these sort of questions ie we'll probably just get the usual 'we're gutted we've let the boss down, didn't turn up, try to win the cup for the gaffer' etc comments. But how many of them genuinely give a ******? What I'd really like to hear them being asked is questions like 'Do you think if you'd applied yourself better to this sort of game then Jack Ross might still be in a job?'

Players are media trained and will never say anything apart from daft cliches in post match interviews. Kevin Nisbet is like a robot and half the time doesn’t even answer the question being asked.

“Great to be back on the scoresheet, great performance from the boys”

[hibeerealist]

I don't think you can reach any serious level as a professional footballer by picking and chosing what games you fancy. Total nonsense IMO.


Is it?

So it’s just total coincidence then?

[MWHIBBIES]

Is it?

So it’s just total coincidence then?

We were in bad form long before we were in a final, so yes.

[wookie70]

What was hibs form in the league prior to the cup final last season?

Surely it can only be the form since the semi win that can effect players pondering a final. Last season we only had two games between the semi and final. An away win in Aberdeen and nil nil at home to Celtc. We have lost 3, drawn 1 and won 1 since the semi win this year with two games to go.

For me the players downed tools on Wednesday. Something seemed different after we missed the penalty. The games since the semi win might not have been great but weren't wildly different to those at the start of the year. We just never got the breaks we had been getting and were missing the presence of Doidge and Magennis. It was quite worrying how the players just lost all faith in themselves and gave up after a bit of adversity. They are mostly experienced and on long contracts and I am not sure a change of manager will sort that. I suspect if we get a Lennon or Butcher type who throws teams and individuals in front of the bus that we may be in a world of trouble.

[Callum_62]

I wasn't there last night but by most accounts the players didn't appear to fancy it. Going back way before Ross, we seem to lose far more of these unglamorous midweek winter away games (particularly trips to the Highlands) than we should. That's always struck me as bizarre because if players don't like travelling to these places midweek I'd have thought the mentality would be 'let's just make sure we make the trip worthwhile'.

One exception to that I recall was the midweek after we lost the League Cup final to Ross County. We had to travel to Inverness for a Scottish Cup replay which I think the majority of fans would have seen as an almost inevitable defeat yet we dug out a solid 2-0 win. That, I felt, showed that the side had good mental strength. The current side followed up our semi-final win over Rangers with a midweek loss at County.

If you don't think players pick and choose what games they fancy, does it simply come down to the manager being unable to coax the performance out of them that he's looking for?2-1 wasn't it?

Stokes double and we were clinging on for dear life last 10 mins [emoji23]

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

[Crab apple]

I wasn't there last night but by most accounts the players didn't appear to fancy it. Going back way before Ross, we seem to lose far more of these unglamorous midweek winter away games (particularly trips to the Highlands) than we should. That's always struck me as bizarre because if players don't like travelling to these places midweek I'd have thought the mentality would be 'let's just make sure we make the trip worthwhile'.

One exception to that I recall was the midweek after we lost the League Cup final to Ross County. We had to travel to Inverness for a Scottish Cup replay which I think the majority of fans would have seen as an almost inevitable defeat yet we dug out a solid 2-0 win. That, I felt, showed that the side had good mental strength. The current side followed up our semi-final win over Rangers with a midweek loss at County.

If you don't think players pick and choose what games they fancy, does it simply come down to the manager being unable to coax the performance out of them that he's looking for?

I was there last night and I thought we were doing okay until we lost the goal and then that penalty miss. After that confidence and positivity seemed to seep away. We were second best to most balls and never looked like getting back into it. Not sure if that was due to the forthcoming final; a lack of collective leadership in the team; or if some of the players had given up playing for the manager.

[He's here!]

Players are media trained and will never say anything apart from daft cliches in post match interviews. Kevin Nisbet is like a robot and half the time doesn’t even answer the question being asked.

“Great to be back on the scoresheet, great performance from the boys”

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/hibs-players-feel-sick-but-jack-ross-was-close-to-going-before-rangers-cup-semi-final-win-3489741

These quotes from Newell are more open and honest than most stock responses. Still begs the question why they didn't do more on the pitch to keep Ross in a job if they like him so much.

Article also suggests there were moves afoot to oust Ross before the semi-final win which, if true, can't have helped him.