Pat Fenlon says Hibs must learn after humiliation

Manager Pat Fenlon admits Hibs must learn quickly from their mistakes on the European stage after a wretched defeat.

The Edinburgh side suffered a humiliating 7-0 loss to Malmo at Easter Road last night, crashing out of the second qualifying round of the Europa League with a 9-0 aggregate loss over the two legs.

Hibs begin their Scottish Premiership campaign against Motherwell on August 4, swiftly followed by a derby clash with city rivals Hearts.

And Fenlon now faces the daunting task of lifting his players’ morale for the new league season after such a crushing blow.

He said: “You have to learn. It’s as simple as that. Managers have to learn and players have to learn.

“It’s difficult at this stage to be too positive about anything so I’m disappointed with that.”

Challenge

Adding to Hibs’ woes, captain James McPake faces a spell on the sidelines after being forced out of the action early on with a back problem.

Fenlon added: “The season starts next week so it’s a massive challenge to get it right.

“Hopefully we will get a couple of players back from injury but it looks like we are going to lose James for a while.”

The aggregate result is the worst suffered by a Scottish team on the continental stage.

Magnus Eriksson, Emil Forsberg, Markus Halsti, Miiko Albornoz, Tokelo Rantie, Jiloan Hamad and Simon Kroon all grabbed a goal apiece for the rampant Swedes, with Eriksson and Hamad also on target in the first leg.

Fenlon admitted his overriding feeling was embarrassment, as he apologised to the club’s supporters who witnessed the capitulation at Easter Road.

He said: “I’m embarrassed more than anything else. It’s difficult to say too much to be honest.

‘Very disappointing’

“We did all right at the start of the game and then conceded a goal and lost our way. It’s very, very disappointing.

“It’s difficult to say anything after a game like that. I’ve got to look at myself and not just blame players.

“The fans were fantastic and I apologise to the supporters.

“I won’t make excuses, it’s not good enough. I know how they’re feeling.”

Malmo coach Rikard Norling said: “We had a lucky day.

“Every time we came close to the goal it seemed that the ball wanted to go in for us.

“I think when McPake had to go off, maybe Hibernian lost a little bit of belief.”

Taken from the Scotsman