Lee Johnson admits Hibernian need to learn fast how to handle the demands of juggling European football with domestic matters after they suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to St Mirren in their cinch Premiership opener.
The Easter Road side defeated Andorran side Inter d’Escaldes 6-1 in their Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday – 7-3 on aggregate – but they fell flat on Sunday as their visitors raced into a two-goal lead through Mark O’Hara and Toyosi Olusanya.
Hibs raised their intensity levels after the break and got themselves level through Adam Le Fondre and Christian Doidge. but Saints claimed the points with a late header from substitute Alex Greive.
With home and away games against Swiss side FC Luzern over the next two Thursdays, Johnson is worried about his team’s ability to handle the demands of competing on both fronts.
“I’m super disappointed with the start,” he said. “If we’re going to compete in all competitions we have got to be able to play Thursday-Sunday-Thursday-Sunday.
“I obviously named the same starting XI (as Thursday), which is fair (criticism) to be thrown at me.
“But I feel individually the boys have a responsibility to be at their best physically and mentally, with the help of us and all the expertise we have got.
“I don’t think it was a fitness thing because you saw us take over in the second half.
“It was more a mental strength to be able to go again, when the focus had been on a recent game, if that makes sense.
“With St Mirren having a longer lead-in than us in terms of preparation they did a job on us. We made poor decisions.
“The boys showed in the second half it wasn’t a fitness issue. It looked like that in the first half due to not being as mentally focused as he should have been.
“We’ve got to get to grips with that quickly if we want to compete on all fronts.”
Johnson made a double substitution after just 28 minutes, taking off Josh Campbell and Allan Delferriere and switching formation while his team trailed 2-0.
“I love Josh to bits, he’s a fantastic player and has goals in him, but he has to bring his game more often,” said Johnson, explaining the changes.
“His game is a powerful game, he hits numbers in terms of getting in the box and can win second balls. For whatever reason he wasn’t on it today.
“Allan looked like it was too much for him to play two games in four days.”
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson praised his side’s resilience after they overcame the disappointment of squandering their two-goal lead to go and win the match.
“I was delighted with the performance,” he said. “To come here and dominate the whole first half with the quality we showed was great.
“I thought to a man we were excellent. We were always going to face a comeback, this is a very good Hibs side who have recruited heavily and it was always going to be a test.
“When they launch things up to Doidge anything can happen. It became a little bit route one.
“We could have lived to regret not taking the amount of chances we created, but we were not happy to settle for a point. I thought we were excellent and showed real quality.”
Clement wants ruthless Rangers after nervy win over Hearts
Rangers boss Philippe Clement called on his team to show greater ruthlessness after they were made to work for a 1-0 win over Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Cyriel Dessers put the Gers ahead after just six minutes at Ibrox, diverting James Tavernier's effort past visiting goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
However, Clement's team failed to build on that quick start and inched over the line amid a tense atmosphere, moving back to within nine points of pacesetters Celtic and Aberdeen.
Speaking after the game, Clement acknowledged his players are fatigued after a gruelling run of fixtures but added they must start taking their chances.
"We made too many wrong choices with the ball and became too sloppy," Clement said.
"It's the end of a very busy period, though, with a lot of travelling and they're all human beings, not robots.
"We missed scoring the second goal and we know that until you get that goal the other team stays in the game, so I want us to kill the belief of the opponent faster.
"I'm very satisfied with the result and the deserved three points. We didn't show the same quality in the second half and we didn't finish off the game. We had a few chances, but it stays nervous until the last second."
Rangers host Dundee United after the international break, while Celtic visit Hearts and Aberdeen travel to St. Mirren.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnock
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnoc
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
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