Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin insisted his side are still in a good position in their battle against the drop, despite his side’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Saints’ captain Liam Gordon steered home just before half-time after United were unable to clear their lines and the visitors saw Charlie Mulgrew sent off in the second half as they failed to find a leveller.
The defeat ended a run of three successive cinch Premiership victories and Goodwin urged perspective as he praised the attitude of his side.
He said: “If we’d gone down without a fight then I would be very disappointed, but the character is there in the group.
“We are in a decent position if you consider where we were prior to the Hibs game. If I was sitting here still five points adrift, I’d be very concerned. But we’re not.
“We are still level on points with Kilmarnock, albeit Ross County have closed that gap.
“It looks like it will be between the three of us at the bottom and we have great belief in the group.”
St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean, meanwhile, played down the five point gap his side have opened up ahead of the teams below them as he praised the collective effort of his team.
MacLean, who earned a point against Hibs in his first game in interim charge, saw the Saints win at home for the first time since beating Rangers 2-1 in early November.
He said: “It’s massive but it’s only a cushion. I don’t look at other teams. People pointed out last week that teams had won under us but I’m only interested in our club and what we do.
“I think you can see that we’re improving and we’re getting better and if win our games then we’ll be fine.
“We don’t just defend as a back four. We defend from the front and also Liam Gordon has scored the goal so it’s a collective. We don’t work as individuals – we’ve got to be good as a group. I’m delighted for everybody.”
St Johnstone have another home match against Motherwell next week and MacLean – who is relishing his role as interim boss – hopes they can use Saturday’s result to build some momentum and go on a run of wins.
He added: “There’s improvement in this team. I think everybody can see that we’re getting there. We’re working hard in training. You can see slight changes that we’re making and hopefully they’re enjoying it as much as I am but I think we can get better too.
“I want to keep winning. I’m not just about one or two games. I want to go on a run and I want to make this team better like I know they can be.
“I want to concentrate on Motherwell next week. I’ll watch their games and we’ll work in training for Motherwell and try to win the game.”
Clement pleased with 'dominant' Rangers victory against Ross County
Philippe Clement says Rangers are beginning to click after they comfortably beat Ross County 3-0 on Sunday to move within two points of second-placed Aberdeen.
Hamza Igamane thundered Rangers into a sixth-minute lead with the help of a deflection, before Jack Hamilton had his pocket picked by Danilo to put them two goals in front.
Clement's side continued to dominate after the break but were kept on their toes by Akil Wright, who went close on two occasions with headers from close range.
However, Rangers sealed the victory four minutes from time through captain James Tavernier, who rifled Cyriel Dessers cutback into the far left corner.
And the visitors were deserving of their win, registering an expected goals (xG) of 1.53 from their 19 shots, compared to Ross County's measly 0.75 from their 10 attempts.
Rangers have now won their last four matches in all competitions, scoring 14 goals while conceding just twice, to leave Clement impressed with his side's progression.
"It's what I wanted to see but, of course, I'm very pleased because this is a really hard place to show that," Clement said.
"I'm very pleased about our domination, about how we controlled the game, but with the intention to score more goals, how we kept our organisation, concentration and also not to become sloppy and to give things away and to keep a clean sheet and three goals at Ross County. It's a really huge performance."
"Our squad is starting to recognise what to do when. It's hard work. It's about getting experience together, getting connections between players together, communication on the pitch, the right timings."
Clement's side welcome Tottenham to Ibrox in the Europa League on Thursday, hoping to build on their 4-0 thrashing of Nice in their last game in the competition.
Rodgers hails Celtic character as Hibs win makes it 30 unbeaten
Brendan Rodgers credited Celtic's togetherness after their 3-0 victory over Scottish Premiership strugglers Hibernian made it 30 domestic games unbeaten.
Hibs dropped back to the bottom of the table after passing up a host of presentable opportunities in Glasgow, with Kasper Schmeichel making several saves in the Celtic goal.
Arne Engels had put Celtic ahead in the sixth minute, with a Joe Newell own goal and a Kyogo Furuhashi strike making the points safe after half-time.
Celtic have not lost a domestic game since a 2-0 defeat to Hearts in early March, and they now hold a nine-point advantage over Aberdeen – who they beat 1-0 on Wednesday – at the top of the table.
Celtic gave up 14 shots worth 2.19 expected goals (xG), while attempting 21 worth 3.89 xG in an open game on Saturday, with Rodgers subsequently acknowledging they were not at their best, particularly in defence.
"It was a great, great win for us on the back of a tough game in midweek," Rodgers said. "You can see where Hibs' confidence has improved and they had chances.
"We were nowhere near the level of our defending, even though we've kept a clean sheet and that's a huge testament to Kasper because we haven't given away much at all this season.
"Today we were just slightly off it and that gave them opportunities to score but, overall, I think to get the win and to keep winning really shows you the mental toughness and the character within the team."
Celtic are back in Champions League action against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, before facing Old Firm rivals Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final next Sunday.
Celtic go seven points clear of Aberdeen after narrow win
Reo Hatate secured Celtic a narrow 1-0 victory over second-placed Aberdeen, sending them seven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
The Japanese international struck in the 78th minute, meeting Greg Taylor's pass over the top to rifle the winner into the bottom corner.
In a tight first half, Duk was denied by Kasper Schmeichel before Alistair Johnson's header was turned narrowly past the post by Jamie McGrath.
Paulo Bernardo thought he had given Celtic the lead when he scored directly from a corner, though the goal was ruled out due to a foul on Ross Doohan.
Ester Sokler had the opportunity to equalise late on, only for Cameron Carter-Vickers to turn his effort over the bar as Celtic kept an 11th clean sheet of the season.
Meanwhile, Rangers continued their recent run of fine form with a 6-0 thrashing of Kilmarnock.
It was their second win by that scoreline this season, having also beaten Ross County on matchday three, with James Tavernier opening the scoring in the 37th minute with his first goal of the campaign.
Philippe Clement's side turned up the heat after the break, with two goals in two minutes from Danilo and Hamza Igamane putting them 3-0 up.
Vaclav Cerny then drove a reverse shot into the back of the net shortly after the hour mark before substitute Cyriel Dessers scored two first-time goals to move Rangers just four points behind Aberdeen with a game in hand.
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