Hibs dropped points at home to St Johnstone in their most recent Premiership clash and Hibees boss Paul Heckingbottom hasn’t covered himself in glory.
A last-gasp Jason Kerr header sealed a 2-2 draw for St Johnstone on their travels to Leith. It left some Hibs fans furious with their manager after another poor result.
Now Heckingbottom has blasted ‘anxious’ fans in the wake of this fixture.
He told the Daily Record: “We were trying to get the boys to relax but the whole stadium was anxious and that spread to the players.
“There was a real anxiousness that spread from the stand to the players. But when there is one goal in it you have to defend.”
Heckingbottom may have killed any good will between him and Hibs fans
No matter how much pressure you’re under as a manager, you can’t start to blame the fans. Hibs haven’t played well in the past few games and they can’t be blamed for that.
After watching their side ship 11 goals in their last three matches, Hibees supporters have every right to be annoyed. It wasn’t like they dominated proceeding against the Saints either.
St Johnstone had more possession and more shots on target than their Leith opponents (BBC). They may have been leading all the way up until the 90th minute, but a Hibs win wouldn’t have been fully deserved.
When you are one goal up at home, you don’t have to ‘defend’. Heckingbottom could have opted to attack the game in an attempt to kill it off. Man for man, Hibs have more quality than St Johnstone. They should be beating them at home.
The cheapest season ticket available to full paying adults at Easter Road is £405. Heckingbottom has no right to blast fans because his side couldn’t beat their Perthshire opponents.