Michael Weir: Hibees must show their character again

Hibs boss Alan Stubbs consoles Liam Henderson at the end of the game at Dumbarton

After the high of the previous week and given the form we were in, I don’t think anyone expected us to lose to both Morton and Dumbarton. That’s the unpredictable nature of football, though. Sometimes there’s just no rhyme or reason to this game.

If we were to look for an explanation for the last two results, I’d suggest that the hectic fixture schedule has probably taken its toll. The manager has been forced to make lots of changes to the team on a game-by-game basis in order to keep the players fresh, and sometimes that works and other times it doesn’t.

I’ve also had a nagging worry about how the lack of experience in the squad might count against us. We’ve been heavily reliant on our younger players this season and it can be difficult to keep going week in, week out, so sometimes you need older, more experienced players to pull you over the line when it matters.

I think any chance of the title has now gone. There would need to be a major catastrophe at Rangers for us to get back in and I don’t see that happening. Hibs are now under massive pressure to stop the wheels coming off the entire season because we’ve got a couple of big cup games in the next fortnight and plenty people will be questioning us.

The last week will have been a major disappointment to the players and confidence will have taken a dent. It’s a week they’ll not forget in a hurry, so they need to get back on track against Queen of the South tomorrow. This team have showed they’ve got character and they’ll need to do it again because they’ve still got plenty to play for.

As well as the cups, we’ve also got to make sure we stay ahead of Falkirk and secure second place. I’d take a victory of any kind at Palmerston tomorrow just to get the confidence back in time for the Inverness game.

Sunday’s game will be really tough because we’re without several key players and have temporarily lost our way. Hopefully, the last couple of games will go down merely as a random blip in an otherwise successful season.