Source: Team_Talk
Rankin and co set bar high at Hibs
Hibs star John Rankin claims the players will not fold in the face of fans' expectations - because they demand even more from themselves.[LNB] The early-season promise around Easter Road has threatened to dissolve completely in recent weeks as Hibs followed a run of just one win from seven league games with a Scottish Cup defeat to Ross County.[LNB]However, a 3-1 triumph at Falkirk has given Hibs the chance to reclaim third spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League by beating Dundee United at home on Wednesday night.[LNB]Rankin has revealed there was a quiet determination around the dressing room before the Falkirk game that their season would not slip further off track.[LNB]And now there is renewed confidence in the ranks that the third-place finish demanded by manager John Hughes can be achieved.[LNB]"There are always expectations at this club but when it comes to this game, there is not going to be anyone with higher expectations than the players themselves," Rankin said.[LNB]"We expect from each other and hopefully we can achieve our main aim this season, which is to finish third.[LNB]"We're on a high and looking forward to the game. The challenge is to get third spot and we can get that on Wednesday and hopefully maintain it.[LNB]"The confidence is high after the win on Saturday. It has been a long time coming.[LNB]"We were bitterly disappointed after losing to Hearts and Ross County. This place was very quiet last Thursday and Friday.[LNB]"But the boys are buzzing now and we go into this game on a high."[LNB]Hughes felt the replay loss against First Division Ross County backed up his concerns that his team were too "soft" and lacked the mental strength to "win ugly".[LNB]But they responded well by coming back from a goal behind to net three first-half goals against relegation-threatened Falkirk.[LNB]"The spirit here is fantastic," Rankin said. "We had that determination about us on Saturday.[LNB]"The dressing room was quiet but we had that determination within ourselves to say 'we're not going to lose today'.[LNB]"There is definitely room for improvement but we might need to grind some results out before the end of the season.[LNB]"We rolled the sleeves up and got three points and we might need to do that again.[LNB]"We put a run together at the start of the season and we have not done so since then.[LNB]"Hopefully Saturday was the start of another run because it's going to take another run to get third spot."[LNB]
