Stack: Hibs have to stay grounded

Hibs emerged from those clashes having achieved back-to-back clean sheets for the first time this season, the victory over Killie taking them into the last eight of the William Hill Scottish Cup and the draw with Aberdeen keeping them just ahead of Dunfermline in the battle to avoid the drop.

But while agreeing confidence among boss Pat Fenlon’s squad has understandably risen, the Hibees goalkeeper cautioned against believing the club’s season has suddenly taken a turn for the better.

He said: “It’s still early days, we do not want to get carried away. There’s still a lot of work to be done. We are delighted with the last two weeks, we’ve stemmed the flow a little bit, unbeaten and with back-to-back clean sheets which is a good thing.

“We have to stay grounded, there is work to be done and a lot of football to be played but let’s hope we are on our way to turning the corner.”

Stack’s shut-out against the Dons was only Hibs’ sixth of the season, a total he readily agrees has fallen far short of the target he had set before the campaign began but now he’s aiming for a hat-trick of clean sheets in Sunday’s match against SPL leaders Celtic.

It may seem a tall order given Neil Lennon’s side have won their last 17 matches in domestic competition, a record which has made them favourites to win the treble, but Hibs go into the game at the weekend knowing they were the last Scottish side to take a point from the Hoops. Stack told Hibs TV: “Clean sheets work wonders. When a striker is scoring goals that drives them on. It’s the same for myself and the unit at the back. Clean sheets are what we work towards during the week.

“We’ve not kept enough this season, that goes without saying: Everyone has targets before the start of the season and I have fallen well short, nowhere near enough clean sheets. But there are still plenty of games to be played and I’d like to think I can catch up on a few.”