Lee Johnson insists Hibs are ready to hit the ground running against Rangers after using the World Cup break to press reset on their season.
Six defeats in their last seven Premiership outings saw the Easter Road side plummet to eighth spot and fall five points behind Aberdeen in third. Johnson admits he shares the supporters’ disappointment at the slump that saw them score just six goals in those seven games - half of them in their only win over St Mirren. But he is adamant Hibs are “very close to where we want to be” as they prepare to return from the five-week break at Ibrox on Thursday.
Key men including Kevin Nisbet and Aiden McGeady are ready for their first top flight action under the new boss after lengthy spells out injured. And Johnson 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 on point off fifth and a bit further away from third. But there’s a lot of football to be played.”
Thursday’s encounter will see new Rangers boss Michael Beale make his competitive debut in the dug out. And Johnson reckons that brings added gravity to the occasion.
Hibs drew 2-2 with Rangers in Leith earlier in the season before their slump saw them fall 13 points behind the Light Blues having played a game more.
They’ve not won at Ibrox since February 2018 - nine visits ago. But the Easter Road boss is confident his players can handle the pressure in Govan.
He said: “I think the lads should look forward to it, they’re the boys out in the pitch and they’ve earned the right to play at this level and in games like this.
“It becomes an occasion because Michael Beale has gone into Rangers as their new manager. But we are well prepared. We have had good time to go into this game, we’ve known we’re playing Rangers next for three or four weeks now and all parts of the preparation have been leading up to this game.
“It’s a really important one for us to put in a good performance.”
Johnson is looking to streamline his bloated squad in the January window. With 28 first team players on the books the manager admits some will need to be moved on before he can bring in more new signings.
But he’s confident the club is moving towards a period of success under his philosophy.
He said: “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.”
