Calderwood ready for battle

27 December 2010 18:00

Manager Colin Calderwood admits Hibernian are firmly in a relegation battle following their home defeat by Aberdeen.

Aberdeen moved off the foot of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Easter Road on Boxing Day - their first win since beating Hibs in October.

When asked if the prospect of relegation had been raised inside the club, Calderwood said: "I don't know if it has been mentioned in the dressing room but we're far enough into the season and we're completely in that fight."

The Edinburgh side slipped to 10th place in the SPL, five points above bottom side Hamilton, but they have played two games more than Accies.

Calderwood has tasted defeat in six of his nine games in charge and his team will have to record their first win of the season against bottom-six opponents in order to beat Dundee United at Easter Road on Wednesday.

He added: "We will need a sustained run of good form and victories to take us away from it.

"We had the best chance, play the bottom team and beat them, that would have given us a mighty gap and it hasn't happened.

"Looking at one of the stats, I don't think we have won against a team in the bottom half of the table, which is quite interesting and something we have got to rectify."

Calderwood added: "It's a big game for us on Wednesday, we've got to have a reaction to a home defeat against Aberdeen. It's important we have a verve and an end product."

Source: PA