Nish: Hibs getting Old Firm treatment

Hibs go into Saturday's game with Motherwell just two points behind leaders Celtic after putting together a nine-match unbeaten run in the SPL.Manager John Hughes has already warned his side they are now seen as "a scalp" and has noticed opponents adopting more defensive formations against them.Striker Nish, 28, believes Hibs are simply having to put up with the same tactics Celtic and Rangers face every week.He said: "When people come to play against Hibs at Easter Road it's always like that, maybe a little bit more so now because of the form that we've shown at the beginning of the season."They probably change their tactics and sit behind the ball a wee bit more than they usually do against other teams."I suppose we're just finding out what it's like for Rangers and Celtic."Despite their lofty perch, Hughes claims his side have yet to hit top form since he arrived at the club this summer.And Nish does not think that is necessarily a bad thing."I don't think some of the games we've played we've had our best performances but we've still come away with the three points," he said."It just shows you what we've got. We know if we're not doing well, we can still dig in."It's more than what we would have done last year."Nish has been in and out of Hughes' plans this season and has borne the brunt of the manager's criticism on occasion.Last month's Edinburgh derby saw the pair involved in a touchline altercation, with Hughes later accusing the striker of failing to stay on his feet.Nish played down the incident, saying: "The manager was fine. I spoke to the manager after the game and on the Monday and he was just having a laugh with me."Nevertheless, Nish has found it difficult to impress Hughes."It's tough," he said. "I think I played every week last year."I think I should be playing every week but it's the manager who picks the team."It's difficult to make him change his mind. I did that last week and hopefully I can keep that going."Nish returned to the starting line-up against Falkirk on Saturday and will hope to keep his place against Motherwell.But he knows Hughes will not hesitate to axe him again if he fails to perform."We've got a really strong squad so if you're not doing the business, you'll get dropped," Nish said."I think the manager's proved that with the players he's dropped throughout the season. He's not afraid to drop anyone."Nish's height means he provides a different option to the likes of Derek Riordan, Anthony Stokes and Abdessalam Benjelloun.But he said: "Personally, I think I'm better on the ground than people give me credit for."I know what I can do and I think the manager knows that as well."Hibs are the only side to beat Motherwell in the league this term and Nish said: "We played really well when we went to Motherwell earlier on this season, beat them 3-1."So if we can play like that we'll take the three points." Hibernian 10/11, Draw 5/2, Motherwell 3/1  

Source: Team_Talk