St Mirren manager Danny Lennon appears to be a big fan of the man who will be in the home dug out tomorrow at Easter Road. Lennon thinks that Pat Fenlon has not received the recognition he deserves for the changes that are apparent in the Hibs side in his near-12 months at the club. Hibs' form this season has been markedly improved thanks in part to a major turnaround in personnel. last year, after they ended last term by avoiding the drop in May and losing to Hearts in the Scottish Cup final. Hibs can go back to the top of the SPL if they beat St Mirren at home on Saturday. Lennon said: "I certainly don't think Pat Fenlon gets enough credit for what he has done at Hibs. He took them to a cup final last year, which was a tremendous achievement on its own. But unfortunately the Hibs fans don't see that as an achievement because they can't see past the pain of the 5-1 thrashing by their closest rivals. That kind of humiliation would have haunted the players and staff over the summer but motivated them to do so well this season. This season sees them sitting second top in the SPL which I'm sure has certainly won the Hibs fans over. They come into this game on the back of a 4-0 victory at Motherwell but once again I felt Pat Fenlon is not getting enough credit. People were saying the goals came against the run of play and all the decisions went against Motherwell. The proof is in the pudding where they sit. They are undefeated at home this season, which is a big turnaround. That holds no fear for us. Aberdeen were undefeated in 13 games prior to our win in the cup on Tuesday evening. We were undefeated at Easter Road last season where we won and drew and we take heart from that form." The Buddies have lost their last three SPL games and have dropped to 11th in a congested table, with only Dundee below them. There is no relaxation on the part of Fenlon as he knows his Hibs side could make a similar tumble down the league if standards drop. The Hibs manager said: "If you don't perform you can end up being in the top six one or two games and then the bottom six the next two games. It's important, particularly at home, that we're hard to beat, that we win games and pick up points. It's a good incentive for the players, to be able to go to the top of the table from where we've been. The players have to use it as motivation." As part of maintaining standards, Fenlon hopes to keep striker Leigh Griffiths, midfielder Jorge Claros and defender Ryan McGivern beyond their current loan deals. Wolves' Griffiths, who has scored nine SPL goals this season, Manchester City's McGivern and Claros, on loan from Motagua in Honduras, are currently only with Hibs until January. Fenlon said: "We want to keep all our better players. The three of them are up in January but we're working hard presently to make sure we keep them."
Source: ScottishFitba
Source: FOOTYMAD
