Stephen Kenny Post Hibs

"We probably gave Hibs too much respect after half time and defended a little too deep in midfield.

Manager Stephen Kenny spoke after the defeat at Easter Road:-

"Hibs moved the ball very well but in the first half we were very competitive; the attitude of the players was good and defensively we were very solid. First half the midfield worked hard; gave the ball away a little cheaply at times and had a couple of chances on the counterattack. That crucial pass wasn't of the quality that it might have been.

"We probably gave Hibs too much respect after half time and defended a little too deep in midfield. We needed to start the way we did in the first half because Hibs never had a chance in the whole first half really - they had one but it was offside (David Murphy). I have to be honest neither did we but then in the second half at 0-0 there were two chances.

"Mark Burchill closed their keeper down and it looked like he was in but unfortunately there was a bit of a ricochet. Stephen Crawford had an opportunity where we had a bit of movement in the box but it just went past the post.

"Within a minute they had scored. The only other chance they had up until that goal was when Whittaker had got in, overlapped on the right and knocked it over but up until that there really hadn't been a chance of any note. It was well finished by Killen I have to say but we sold ourselves a little.

"The second goal was disappointing from our point of view. We don't need to concede goals like that. Again Gary Mason had a great chance to pull one back but we haven't done. Hibs were playing really well and look a step up from us at that stage."

Asked whether he had words with Souleymane Bamba for the needless gift of a penalty, Stephen Kenny reply indicated that they had not been in English:-

"Pourquoi! He said that it wasn't intentional but it killed the game for us.

"When I took over there was a match down at Kilmarnock where we were hammered and were just poor. We had a bit of a re-think because we cannot tolerate that sort of lacklustreness. We went and put our act together really.

Dutch goalkeeper, Dorus de Vries had to come off in the second half, the Manager reported on his injury:-

"He did his groin kicking the ball in the first half.  It was iffy at half time whether he was going to come off but he was alright then.  He was playing very good; his handling and coming for crosses, he just seemed to be playing well. His performance has improved in the last few weeks.  It looks like he might be out for a couple of weeks.

"Roddy came in and was grand; he didn't do anything wrong.  We are lucky we have a good experienced goalkeeper to back up. When Jim Leishman signed the two of them he did not have a first choice or second choice, he signed two keepers and said compete for that place, so that's it."