Hibs boss David Gray has urged some perspective after his side couldn’t beat 10-man St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
The Hibees had to come from behind to earn a point after a Nicky Clark penalty had the Perth Saints 1-0 up at half-time.
Minutes beforehand, Jason Holt was issued a straight red card but Hibs struggled to take advantage in the second-half.
Dwight Gayle finished well after 79 minutes to level things up but Hibs couldn’t find a winner.
Gray understands it can look like a missed opportunity, but urged that a point away from home isn’t the worst and it keeps the team’s unbeaten record intact.
Gray reacts to St Johnstone 1-1 Hibs
Gray said: “I think when you strip it back to that and you look at how results have gone, you look at the fact we’ve played such a long period of the game against ten men, it can feel that way (a missed opportunity).
“But I can’t fault the players’ effort either, for doing everything they could to try and get back into the game.
“We made as many changes as we could, attacking ones to try and get back into the game firstly and then to try and go and win it.
“But I think we’ve probably done everything but score in terms of final third, a little bit of quality, decision-making or not really working the goalkeeper enough for the number of opportunities we created.
“So that’s why it feels like it’s a bit of a missed opportunity. But when I think back, I need to remain positive because of where we’ve been. A point on the road is never a bad thing and never a disaster.
“And then you think that we remain undefeated for the last five games, one defeat in seven or eight games. So we have come a long way in a short period of time, and we need to keep moving forward and moving up the way.”
Joe Newell & Elie Youan injury updates
Gray also told reporters that he is hopeful Joe Newell and Elie Youan will be back to face Rangers at the weekend.
The Hibs boss said: “Joe obviously took that knock just before half-time in the last game. He has been nursing a groin issue for a wee while that he’s been able to play through.
“Unfortunately, he just went into that tackle just before half-time last week and he’s not quite recovered from it yet.
“But we’re still positive he will. We just need to monitor that one carefully. I’ll wait and see how he recovers.
“Yeah, Elie, he should be available as well. He’s unfortunately slower to recover than we thought he would be.
“I did think he would make it today, but he is getting there, and it should just be days rather than anything else. But there’s nothing too concerning there.”