Michael Weir: Jack Ross has decisions to make with this Hibs team - failure can't be rewarded

Hibs can’t put the derby defeat out of their minds but it’s all about how the players and management react to it.
Jack Ross may think about changing things up for the trip to AberdeenJack Ross may think about changing things up for the trip to Aberdeen
Jack Ross may think about changing things up for the trip to Aberdeen

I know what it’s like; I’ve experienced the hangover from losing a derby and when you lose one, the next game can’t come quick enough. You want to get out there, and get a result, whatever it takes.

Fans on both sides are unforgiving when it comes to losing derbies and rightly so.

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All Hibs can do is go up to Aberdeen, get a result, and get back on track in the league. The disappointment of Saturday will be there for a while but the players have to put it behind them and get three points from Aberdeen.

The bigger the next game, the better it is for the team and Aberdeen away is a very big game to go back to.

The players can’t be allowed to put the semi-final loss to one side completely or treat it as a one-off. Hibs have to win these big games; the derbies and the cup semi-finals and at the moment, they don’t seem to be dealing well with the big games.

They are winning the games they are expected to win but bigger games are causing problems and Friday night would be a great time to start turning that around.

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Jack Ross has to look at individual performances from the semi-final. It might just be one bad display but he has some thinking to do, because there were players who underperformed against Hearts.

Sometimes managers have to make a decision to drop some players and make them fight their way back in.

I imagine Ross will feel disappointed with some players’ showings at Hampden and will have to make a decision on whether he gives them another chance.

But you can’t reward players for failure, especially not losing a game of that magnitude.

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The first derby can sometimes pass new players by but Aberdeen is a totally different game and after some of the performances against Hearts, I think the manager has to give serious thought to making some changes to his team.

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