Hibs glad to get through November's testing time

HIBS will be glad to see the back of November, a month which, traditionally, has brought little joy for the Easter Road club.

This year was no different although, with four of the six matches to be played within those 30 days away from home, it always promised to be a testing time for Mixu Paatelainen's players.

So it proved, with just six points from a possible 18 secured, leaving Hibs, with a third of the season gone, still searching for consistency both in results and performance.

Paatelainen could, with some justification, point out that his side haven't lost in their last three outings and, with four points gained from trips to Motherwell and Falkirk, his players are due some measure of credit for the manner in which they finally ended that run of six games without a win to regain a place in the SPL's top six.

The Hibs boss, however, will be well aware that the Easter Road fans tend not only to judge their team's success in terms of SPL position but where they are relative to arch-rivals Hearts who have stormed into third place and are nine points ahead thanks to a tremendous run of five straight wins culminating in Saturday's well-merited win over title hopefuls Rangers.

Unlike the supporters, however, Paatelainen won't let matters over which he has no control concern him, his sole focus being on rebuilding a side torn apart over the past couple of years with the departures of the likes of Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown, Chris Killen, Gary Caldwell, Steven Whittaker, Ivan Sproule and David Murphy.

Paatelainen has already described the task as "work in progress", his reshaping of the Easter Road squad continuing next month with the arrival of experienced Finnish internationalist Jonatan Johansson and, if he has his way, another couple of old heads who can help deliver the consistency desired.

The highs and the lows which Hibs are currently capable of delivering were all too evident over the course of seven days, a stunning demolition of Motherwell in which the passing was incisive and accurate, the movement, vision and awareness spot-on, making Paatelainen's team too hot to handle was replaced at the Falkirk Stadium with a hesitancy, a lack of cohesion and little or no sign of the crisp passing of the previous week.

A close-range header from substitute Colin Nish seven minutes from time rescued a point for Hibs after Bairns skipper Darren Barr nodded home what looked like being the only goal of the game, leaving both Paaatelainen and Falkirk boss John Hughes to argue that their side should have gone on to win.

Hughes had the stronger case, his Falkirk players having got "in the face" of their opponents from the first whistle, pinning their opponents down inside their own half for long spells, although Hibs' propensity for giving the ball away needlessly contributed greatly to their downfall. As a result, Hibs' forays forward were sporadic but, for all their possession, both before and after the interval, Falkirk rarely managed to trouble Easter Road goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay until Burton O'Brien's cross left the tall Belgian stranded as Barr stole in at the back post to claim his goal.

Paatelainen's decision to replace the ineffectual Derek Riordan with Nish paid dividends, the striker nodding home after skipper Rob Jones, who had been superb in defence, outjumped Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Flinders to meet Alan O'Brien's corner.

The home players hollered in vain for a foul on their goalkeeper with even Nish, he later admitted, wondering if referee Alan Muir would pay them much heed.

The hitman said: "I knew it wasn't a foul because I was standing right beside him but, at the same time, you always have a wee glance at the referee just to make sure he isn't giving anything."

And, while he initially shared his players' opinion, Hughes had no complaints after watching a replay on television, saying: "Our goalkeeper got caught on his heels. It was a good leap by Jones and Nish got a tap-in."

The celebrations which followed Nish's goal earned the Hibs star a booking although he protested what had gone on between him and the Falkirk fans was nothing more than good-natured banter. He said: "They kept calling me a Fifer, probably because I played for Dunfermline, but I'm from Edinburgh."

Nish might have put Hibs into the lead when he managed to get a toe to another Alan O'Brien cross, while the Republic of Ireland winger himself had a late chance to claim a winner only for his shot to be blocked as Lee Bullen threw his body in the way and, prior to the equaliser, Steven Fletcher had managed to head wide from only a couple of yards out after Flinders had missed a David van Zanten cross.

Afterwards Paatelainen professed to being happy enough with a point, even if his side's performance had left a lot to be desired. He said: "I am not happy with our passing at all. We must and can pass the ball much better. In that aspect of the game that was the big difference between this week and last week.

"But I was delighted with the point because this is not an easy place to come."

Asked why standards in that particular aspect of the game should have dropped so alarmingly, Paatelainen replied: "It's up to the players. We do not do anything different on the training ground, we don't set up our stall in a different manner, it's purely up to the boys to make sure when they are on the ball they take care with their passes and make sure that the passes connect.

"But it's a two-way thing, the receiver has to be strong as well, to make sure the ball sticks."

Paatelainen, however, pointed out that opposition teams aren't simply going to stand by and allow Hibs to find their rhythm knowing that if his side can get their fast, free-flowing football going early in games then they can make life difficult for any team.

He said: "You must give Falkirk credit, they were hungry to press us, they wanted to win the ball back when they lost it. As always there's two teams, it's not only about yourself. Your opponent makes it difficult for you but I have said so many times our passing has to be better because I know it can be better.

"We practice passing all the time and we have players who can do it as they have shown so many times.

"It is important we find consistency in that aspect of the game because, if you give the ball away too easily, then you are defending again and you cannot construct anything."

Having said that, Paatelainen insisted for all the possession Falkirk had enjoyed throughout the 90 minutes, there were not too many chances he could remember them making.

On the other hand, he said: "Although we did not pass the ball too well I counted four clear-cut chances other than the goal so, on another day, had we been sharper in the Falkirk penalty box, we might have won it."