Lee Johnson admits Hibs are 'very close' to where they want to be as they get set to face Rangers at Ibrox in their Premiership return.
The Easter Road side went into the World Cup shutdown on a disappointing run of form that has resulted in them sliding from third in the table at one point down into eighth spot. The break from action has allowed the capital club to hit the reset button ahead of the second part of the campaign and allow players a rest and get key men back in action.
The likes of Kevin Nisbet and Aiden McGeady have picked up valuable game-time and training ground work during the break as they bid to return and hit the ground running for boss Johnson. The former Sunderland gaffer shares the fans' disappointment with the recent run but says his side are now getting towards where he wants them to be as they bid to upset Michael Beale on his competitive debut under the lights on Thursday night.
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The Hibs boss said: “Every break acts as a natural reset. We went into the break very disappointed and our fans would have felt the same with the results. We’re not shying away from that. I know where we are in this phase but I also know we are very close to where we want to be.
“We could all argue the case that we should have four or five points more based on decisions and bad luck. But we haven’t we are where we are.
“We are one point off fifth and a bit further away from third. But there’s a lot of football to be played.”
The January transfer window is just around the corner. Any wheeling and dealing in Leith will come down to whether bodies from a bloated squad are moved on. With 28 first team players on the book the manager admits some activity will need to take palce.
But he’s confident the club is moving towards a period of success under his philosophy.
He added: “We have to remember this is a new group that’s forging partnerships and relationships all the time.
“There’s three different managers’ sets of players in there and the evolution of the squad - planning and succession, developing the young players - everything hopefully now sits in with my philosophy and one we believe will take us forward.
“The support from within the club - the board, the coaching staff - everybody is aligned to that. We have to back it and get behind it. I think that will bring success short, medium and long term.”
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