Colin Duncan: Hibs face long wait for glory if getting cuffed by the champions is deemed a decent performance

THE losing Scottish Cup Finalists seemed to think anything other a hammering by their biggest rivals constituted a decent showing, COLIN says.

THERE was something strangely surreal about the attitude of the Hibs players in the aftermath of Sunday’s Scottish Cup Final defeat.

One by one Pat Fenlon’s team trooped through the Hampden mixed zone, quite content with the fact they’d avoided a repeat of last season’s 5-1 humiliation at the hands of Hearts.

Incredibly, despite having just being hammered 3-0 by a Celtic outfit who didn’t need to get out of second gear, they viewed their afternoon’s work as a triumph.

It was almost as if everything in the garden was rosy just because they hadn’t been thumped by their biggest rivals.

Credit to the Hibs supporters who stayed to the bitter end and provided their team with terrific backing at the national stadium.

But if this is the extent of the club’s ambition on the park then it will be a long time before they have anything to really cheer about.

It is a sad day when abject suddenly becomes acceptable within the dressing room.

Every player who addressed the media after the match trotted out the same lines about what a decent performance it was and of how proud they were.

Proud of what exactly? Of passing up a glorious opportunity to make a fist of it against the SPL champions who didn’t need to be anywhere near their best?

Of meekly rolling over and thinking that anything better than a four-goal margin of defeat was something to be celebrated?

Maybe that attitude stems from the manager because Pat Fenlon didn’t seem too upset afterwards, claiming the defeat didn’t hurt as much as 12 months ago.

Like most of his players the Irishman shrugged off the setback as if his team had just lost a kickabout down the local park.

Can you imagine Neil Lennon or any of his charges adopting the same approach in the wake of such a comprehensive doing?

Of course you couldn’t. No, it simply wouldn’t be allowed to happen under his watch.

The Celtic manager would have gone through his men like a dose of salts if they had performed so lamentably – and rightly so.

Instead of waxing lyrical about how they didn’t crumble even more spectacularly the Hibs players would have been better served telling it how it really was.

In the build-up to the match, the recurring theme from the Leith camp was of how this group were filled with leaders and were unrecognisable from the squad who capitulated against Hearts last May.

Yet, there was absolutely zero evidence of people willing to take control on the park and it was the same story afterwards with nobody willing to take any responsibility off it.

The defending at the first two goals was nothing short of diabolical with Alan Maybury, Paul Hanlon and goalkeeper Ben Williams all at fault.

But was anyone man enough to put their hands up and admit culpability afterwards?

Don’t be so daft. They were either hiding behind a collective cloak of “we defend as a unit” or too busy patting themselves on the back for only losing 3-0.

Leigh Griffiths was just about the only Hibs player not to address the media afterwards, the official line being that he was too distraught to speak.

The double Player of the Year award winner was also the only one who actually seemed to be suffering.

Injury prevented a half-fit Griffiths from making any worthwhile impact on the game and as he trooped off the pitch when substituted six minutes from time he was clearly hurting, both physically and mentally.

Unfortunately for the long-suffering Hibs supporters not enough of his team-mates appeared to be sharing any of his pain.

And while this attitude remains at Easter Road it could be another 111 years before the fans have a Scottish Cup win to celebrate.

Taken from the Daily Record