David Marshall on what Hibs players said to each other immediately after Aston Villa hammering

David Marshall does not believe the current Hibs squad lacks confidence but has called for more consistency following a disappointing start to the league campaign and a 5-0 Europa Conference League thrashing at the hands of Aston Villa.

The former Scotland stopper was under no illusion about the gap in quality and finances between the two clubs but was still disappointed they were never really able to ‘get going’ in the match. With the tie as good as over, the Hibees head to Villa Park next week looking to restore a degree of pride but their main focus now is Saturday’s match with Livingston and getting their first league win over the season on the board.

Speaking after the Villa match, he said: “It was very tough. We never really got going or had any real moments where we put Villa under pressure. They were very clinical. The first goal especially was a great header and it took the wind out of our sails. We’re disappointed with our performance overall. We all felt as if we could have done a bit better and pushed out a lot closer so it was a tough evening.

“We want to put on a better display down the road. We spoke about that down the stairs. We’ve got a massive game on Saturday. We’ve not started the league well. I think subconsciously the European stuff can take a lot out of you and physically it can as well after the travelling and stuff and the big performance last week. We’ll be looking to give our fans something to clear next week. More importantly we’ve got a cup final on Saturday after starting the league so poorly.”

Asked about whether confidence in the squad was ‘fragile’ following the result, Marshall continued: “It is what it is. I think we understand we were playing a level above where we usually play. We’ve done well in some games this season, we had the big result in Switzerland.

“That confidence will come back. We were high as a kite and confident going into the Raith game on Sunday after Luzern and it’s only us who can change that. We finished fifth last year and managed to qualify for this. The boys deserve credit for that. We really need to get consistency in the league though. I don’t think there’s a problem with confidence.

“Of course we can learn from it. Personally, looking at goalkeepers, I put yourself and judge yourself against the best and the rest of the lads will be the same. Villa, as much as they are good on the ball, I thought they were incredible off it too and limited us to very little. The work rate of that team was exceptional. We have a number of talented players and young players in the squad.

“We’ve another learning curve going down there next week. It was always the potential that this could happen. I’ve been involved in it before and I’m sure Villa players would have experienced it before - they were on the end of five on the first day of the season against Newcastle.

“It can happen if you’re not right. The disappointment was we never threatened them enough. I only remember one save from Robin Olsen in the first minute of the second half. We gave away cheap goals and never threatened them enough with the quality and pace we have up top.”