Listen: Off The Ball

Jacket. Meet shoogly peg...

Well, there you have it. Paul Heckingbottom says he's determined to get it right at Hibs but will he get the time?

Poor ticket sales for next weekend's League Cup semi final with Celtic suggests fans have lost faith in their side and one win in 10 league games is a sorry, sorry stat for a club of their size.

Livingston visit Easter Road on Wednesday and they certainly won't give anyone an easy ride.

Manager Paul Heckingbottom has taken a long time to emerge from the Hibs dressing room.

"It's two points lost without a doubt," he tells BBC Scotland. "We've spoken about losing leads before. We looked comfortable at 2-0 and had a big chance to make it three.

"It's a tough one for us. I can't take any positives from the game but I know we are only a couple of results away from changing things.

"It's fuelling it's own momentum (the winless run). There's only one way to stop it - and that's getting a win. It's a mentality thing. It's not a lack of energy. We have to face it head on.

"We have to be big enough, we have to be strong enough. We can't just sit there and hope it happens, we need to work hard.

"You feel the pressure but it makes you more focused, more determined. I have to give more, the players have to give more."

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St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright was full of praise for his side after their first league victory of the season.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: “We’re just pleased for the players and fans. It has been a long time coming. We showed everything today. Throughout the performance there was a lot of quality.

"And then at the end the team have shown character because with the run that we’re in, to concede another soft penalty, you then think ‘here we go again’ but we kept at it, still played on the front foot and we were really positive all afternoon. It would have been a total injustice because we were so dominant for the whole game. We hit the woodwork twice and we missed two from six yards out so it was a really good performance and one that deserved all three points.”

Hamilton manager Brian Rice is disappointed that his side weren't able to claim a point despite scoring two goals on the road.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: “I think when we got back to 2-2 we should have seen the game out. We lost three goals and that’s very unlike us. It was poor defending on our part but to come away from home and score two goals you expect to take something from the game.

"We went ahead and then gave away a sloppy goal. Then we rode the storm for a little spell and then we lose a goal we work against losing. So individual mistakes cost us today. And I’m obviously disappointed to lose a last-minute goal.

“If you want to come and see five goals it’s a great advert for the league but my concern is losing three goals and coming away from home and scoring two goals without taking anything out of the game. That’s my big concern today.”

It might seem like we're kicking a team when they are down with the number of times we've mentioned this but it really is a remarkably self-destructive run Hibs are on.

In case you haven't been paying attention, in five successive league outings, the men from Easter Road have surrendered leads.

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St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin was left lamenting Tony Andreu's miss when through on the goalkeeper, with Gary Dicker scoring for Kilmarnock soon after.

He tells BBC Scotland: "I think we had the best chance of the game. Tony is through one-on-one and we would expect him to roll that into the corner. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be and we end up getting done by a sucker punch.

"I don't think there was much between the two teams, we were evenly matched.

"Our away form has been poor. Five games on the road, no points to show for it and it's another hard luck story. We can't continue to be on the end of these narrow defeats. We've got to somehow try to grind out any kind of positive result on the road because as good as our home form has been we can't just rely on that.

"I think a point on the road anywhere in this league is a positive one. We need to be more clinical."

Andreu limped off injured but Goodwin says it was "just a bang" and expects him to be fit for Wednesday's trip to Celtic Park.

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Hearts manager Craig Levein is proud of his team's performance and the effort they showed throughout today's match, but believes a lack of quality in the final third cost them two points against the 10 men of Livi.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: “There were quite a few frustrations today. I asked the players to come here and compete which we didn’t do last season and I was happy with that. I thought we competed from the first whistle to the last. When we did get a numerical advantage it took us 10-15 minutes to settle down and actually start to pass the ball.

"I think we were still in fight mode rather than changing it a little bit and using the extra man. So it took us a little bit of time to transition to what we were doing to what we needed to do. Then we did take charge of the game, which you would expect us to do with an extra man and then we suffered from a little lack of quality and decision making in the last third. We got in to very good positions and didn’t take advantage of it.”

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Kilmarnock manager Angelo Allesio is not getting too excited at his team going third in the Premiership.

He tells BBC Scotland: "We are happy and it's important to win the game, but at the same time we have to improve. Today we suffer a lot. St Mirren are good on the counter attack with a good striker. It's a good result for us."

The Italian confirmed defender Stuart Findlay, who went off in the first half, has a hamstring injury and will be assessed on Monday. He was on crutches at full time.

Responding to questions about how he feels about Kilmarnock's upturn in form after a shaky start, he said: "This is my job. All managers are under pressure in every game.

"We work every day. I have a good team, good players. We have to keep going because the Premiership is very difficult."

After opening with two defeats, the last eight league results make for good reading.

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Usually a red card leads to a notable disadvantage but Livingston manager Gary Holt believes Aymen Souda getting his marching orders spurred his side on to keep a clean sheet and wrestle a point from Hearts.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Holt said: “I’m absolutely delighted for the lads. For 40 minutes in the second half to play with 10 men - the character, the drive, the determination. We didn’t just sit in. We tried to counter, we tried to hit them on the break when we could.

"To a man I thought we were immense and I have to take my hat off to them. When a team goes down to 10 men it can affect you. It galvanised us. It made us stronger. It made us believe in each other. There were question marks after the Kilmarnock game - that we were too cocky and blase - so it was pleasing to see the work-rate, effort and commitment to get that clean sheet and to get that point.”

Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson watched his team fight back from 2-0 down at Easter Road, and praised his side for refusing to fold, particularly having been routed 6-0 at Celtic last weekend.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: "We were certainly looking like the team that were going to win it in the end.

"We were disappointed in the goals we lost but we felt the response was great. We could have easily downed tools and lay down but the players didn’t do that and 2-2 is probably a fair result. We’ll take the point; it feels more like three.

"We didn’t doubt our group of players. They are as honest as the day is long. We trust them to give their all every week. Collectively, we’re happy, it’s a point away from home at one of the big city clubs."

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Quote Message: Edinburgh football is in a real bad place. I said pre-season that I didn't think they would both make the top six, now it looks like neither of them will

Edinburgh football is in a real bad place. I said pre-season that I didn't think they would both make the top six, now it looks like neither of them will

It's a sadly similar story at Hearts, with goal difference the only thing keeping them above their city rivals.

The Jambos are a really hard watch and fans are fed up.

Twenty league games between them and only two league wins for the Edinburgh duo. Dreadful stats.

Hibs are actually unbeaten in five matches across all competitions. On the face of it, that doesn't look like manager-sacking form but there is something seriously awry at Easter Road, with confidence ridiculously fragile.

Paul Heckingbottom's side have now gone nine without a win in the league and his summer signings have largely flattered to deceive.

Former Hibs striker Tam McManus thinks Paul Heckingbottom should go and the loud jeers at full-time suggest he's not the only one.

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