Michael Weir: Hibs have to win 'massive' top-six showdown with St Johnstone

It doesn’t need me to tell you just how massive a game Saturday’s clash with St Johnstone has now become for Jack Ross and his players.

Not so long ago all the talk was about challenging for a place in next season’s Europa League, of overhauling not only Livingston but Aberdeen and Motherwell.

Today it’s all about ensuring we clinch a place in the top six, far from a given now that the Saints are just a point behind us and with a game in hand against a Rangers side clearly lacking in self-belief at the moment.

I’ve been saying for months it’s how you finish the season, how you cope with the business end of things that counts, not what happened in the early months of the campaign and Tommy Wright’s players have proved me right.

They got off to a miserable start, a 7-0 hamering by Celtic on the opening day followed by them taking just four points – one of them thanks to a last-minute equaliser at Easter Road – from their first eight Premiership matches, a record which had some calling for Wright’s head and marking Saints down as relegation candidates.

They’ve turned that round and are finishing the season like a train, digging out results such as the weekend win over Livingston with Callum Hendry’s goal coming in the last six minutes.

But that’s been a feature of their play in recent weeks, time after time they’ve dug deep and found a way either to win or, at least, not lose games.

Yes, there have been matches in which they’ve conceded late equalisers, against Hearts and, more recently, Ross County – but they emerged from both with a precious point.

However, that’s been more than compensated by other results, a last-minute winner against Motherwell, a late equaliser when the played Rangers, holding on to win at Pittodrie having scored in the sixth minute and a battling draw with St Mirren in Paisley having played out the last ten minutes or so with ten men after Liam Craig had been sent off.

Saints are now showing the form we were enjoying only a few weeks ago and they’ll come to Easter Road confident they’ll be leaving with all three points. It’s a test for Hibs and one they have to meet head on.

We’ve been okay when we’ve been on top in games, but we’ve also struggled against big, strong teams like Hearts and Aberdeen and Saints have shown they are a sturdy, stubborn side, one which is difficult to beat.

Ross’ players must respond to the collapses against Hearts and Aberdeen. It would be nice to get a performance and the win but a gritty, hard-fought, dour 1-0 win would please everyone. It would give us a four-point cushion over Saints and with games running out it may prove crucial.