Last week was not good. I don't think we played particularly badly, but we weren't exactly brilliant either. Dundee wanted the win more than us, which is understandable as anything else would have sent them down. We cannot let that happen tomorrow - another defeat for us combined with a Dundee win will really set the nerves jangling and who knows what could happen then. Our current form is nothing to write home about - four draws bookended by defeats to Dundee - while Hibs' form is far from impressive either. They have only won once in the league this year, but that was against us. They haven't won at home since the end of December and we're usually more than willing to oblige in these circumstances.
There's even more chance of us being helpful considering we haven't won away from home since the end of 2012. For some reason we can only win in Dundee, with both our away league successes coming on opposite sides of Tannadice Street. Sadly for us Dundee United just avoided the bottom six at the last second! It's nearly two years since we won at Easter Road but we did beat them after the split last season – although back then we were cruising and they were the ones worrying about relegation.
For two months it was obvious our players' minds were clearly wandering to Hampden so hopefully we can benefit from a team suffering a similar problem tomorrow. Hibs are gearing up for another crack at ending their Scottish Cup hoodoo and while their squad will be playing for places, the fact that is looming large on the horizon may well affect their display. Considering our current form and our predicament we need all the help we can get, although Dundee boss John Brown did attempt to throw a spanner in the works by accusing them of not really trying against Aberdeen on Monday.
We didn't create a great deal last week but hopefully the return of Esmael Goncalves will help fix that. The forward has been banned for the last couple of games but is now available again and will almost certainly replace Lewis Guy, the Portuguese man joining Steven Thompson up front. Of course, we still need some creativity in midfield and John McGinn has to start, although we might be forced into that one as Paul McGowan might be out injured.
There will definitely be a change in defence as Jim Goodwin is suspended. That's perhaps no bad thing as he got sent off on our last trip to Easter Road! There are two options here as Lee Mair could slot straight in or Paul Dummett could play there with Graham Carey at leftback. That's not as crazy as it seems as we did the same against Dundee United earlier in the season and kept a clean sheet. We could desperately do with one of those tomorrow. David Barron and Darren McGregor would have been other possibilities but both are injured, as is Thomas Reilly.
A fortnight ago it looked as if Pat Fenlon would become the first manager in Scottish football to be sacked at half-time. His Hibs side was having a shocker at Hampden, with Falkirk three goals up and looking comfortable. Whatever he said at the interval did the job - and saved his - as we were treated to a terrific second half which saw the Hibees produce a superb fightback to force extra-time before they went on to win. That means they've made their second successive Scottish Cup final and they'll be hoping it goes rather better than last year's. If Fenlon does finally end their 111 year wait then the fans in Leith will care not a jot that their league campaign has been fairly indifferent, resulting in them missing the top six.
Whatever happens next month Fenlon will have to spend some of his summer holidays looking for a new striker or two. He did incredibly well to get Leigh Griffiths back for a second full season but his proper club Wolves have decided they plan to keep him for themselves next season. Hibs have been a one man at times this season, with Griffiths scoring twice in that Hampden fightback and usually against us, and after 25 goals this term he will be a huge loss. Even worse is the fact that Eoin Doyle is also leaving in the summer, having already agreed to join Chesterfield. With Shefki Kuqi hardly having kicked a ball, it looks as if a completely new attack will be required, with Ross Caladwell and fellow youngster Danny Handling surely not yet ready to form a partnership in the first team.
It was somewhat ironic that Griffiths missed a penalty at Hampden given goalie Ben Williams has made a name for himself saving them this season. He's managed to keep out six so far - including one from Paul McGowan - which has made up for a few of his shakier moments. The days of comedy goalkeeping at Easter Road seem to be a thing of the past, which is a shame as we've benefited from it greatly in the last few years. Skipper James McPake is capable of the off shaky performance but is generally solid - although I think Chick Young was getting a wee bit carried away by suggesting he could play for Scotland! Ryan McGivern's loan spell from Man City has paid off, with Alan Maybury and Paul Hanlon ensuring comedy fullback Pa Kujabi is nowhere near the team.
The post-split games can be a chance for teams with nothing to play for (aside from cup final places) to blood some youngsters and Hibs have a pretty handy teenage midfielder coming through at the moment. Alex Harris seems destined to have a bright future and scored the first goal of the fightback at Hampden. While his game is developing he can learn from another product of the youth system who is considerably older, and I don't mean Lewis Stevenson or David Wotherspoon (whose rare goals seem to come against us). Kevin Thomson signed a short term deal a few months ago after being released by Middlesbrough, his last few seasons horrifically hit by injury. He now seems to be getting somewhere near fit and has done well so far, with Dundee United rumoured to be interested in him. Paul Cairney, who we supposedly had as a youth player, has impressed on the wing, while Tom Taiwo, Matt Done and Scott Robertson are capable of good performances and howlers in equal measure. Jorge Claros or Gary Deegan are likely to be deployed in front of the defence.
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