WE'VE GOT TO START SHOWING WIN MENTALITY

FOOTBALL dishes out its fair share of blows but the aftermath of our game against Hearts was the most disappointed I've ever felt in my career.

I've never been as p****d off as I was on Sunday evening, sitting on the sofa at home running what-ifs through my mind like a terrible action replay of all that had gone on at Easter Road a few hours before.

Quite honestly, we showed immaturity and ignorance in the way we played in the derby and I'm not even sure if Hearts had gone two in front whether we would have been able to pull it back.

One of the first things the new manager of Hibs must look at is our resilience, or lack of it, because this isn't the first time we've battered teams, particularly in the first half, and failed to come away with the victories we've merited.

We went a goal up at Celtic and played them off the park for 45 minutes only to lose 2-1.

Our 2-2 draw with Hearts is only the latest in a line of occasions in which we have failed to display a winning mentality.

I'm a passionate player, a winner who always tries my best and I'm sure the rest of the lads share the same characteristics, so I take nothing away from our desire as professionals.

But we are not displaying the steeliness that will enable us to keep our noses in front after we've worked hard enough to take a lead.

Do me a favour and leave out these scapegoat excuses that we're a young and inexperienced side because it doesn't wash any more and it has become boring to hear.

I've played more than 80 games for the club, so has Scotty B and Steven Whittaker has more than 100 appearances for Hibs.

We have a lot of players in our team who have played a lot of first-team football and it's about time we stood up and were counted.

The game couldn't have started any better for us and it was a dream come true to be two up on our arch-rivals after only 15 minutes.

Individual errors cost us the chance of taking all three points but I'm not going to dwell on that because football is a team game and we need to stick together.

Hearts must have felt they had won the lottery at the interval because they did not deserve to go in at 2-1.It came as no surprise when I read they were arguing with each other during half-time because they couldn't cope with the football we were playing.

The downside for us is we can't seem to maintain our first-half form into the second period and I felt the biggest turning point in the game came when they were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Saulius Mikoliunas.

As often happens when a team loses a man it seemed to help them more than us and all credit to Hearts for battling away.

Big Elvis hit the nail on the head when he praised the resolve of his side and I don't know if we would have had the belief and mentality in our dressing room to come back from two goals down at Tynecastle.

In saying that, Craig Gordon also deserves praise for that wonderful injury-time stop - I have tremendous respect for him and I'm sure he'll go on to enjoy a great career at a very top club.

However, it was most frustrating that we couldn't match our form of the first hour in the last 30 minutes as we played with too much anxiety in the final third of the pitch.

We must get back to winning ways as we prepare to welcome a new manager to the club. Mark Venus said his goodbyes yesterday as he heads off to join Tony Mowbray atWest Brom and on behalf of the lads I'd like to wish him all the best.

Mark has so much love for the game and his banter on the training ground dovetailed perfectly with Tony's more serious approach.

The players are keen to see a new boss appointed as quickly as possible but, at the same time, we're also aware of the importance of the club naming the right man.

I don't think the club will rush the appointment because the board are professional and clever enough to know it's more important to make the best choice.

It's vital we return to the sense of normality we enjoyed under Tony and Mark because the past week or so has been fairly unsettling. It's also a chance for us to start anew as everyone will kick off with a clean slate and knuckle down to the challenge of impressing a new boss.

However, for the rest of the week I'm more likely to be on the treatment table than the training ground after I strained the back of a knee late on against Hearts.

I slipped on the turf and my leg caught underneath my bum but don't worry about my old injury because my knee is very solid.

I hope to be back in training later in the week but for now the back of the knee is still giving me discomfort.

Mind you, the pain is nothing compared to the might-have-beens that will still be rattling around my head for another few days to come.

Taken from the Daily Record