IAIN BRINES did not fail to score when through on the goalkeeper. Iain Brines did not waste chance after chance. And Iain Brines did not merely block a free-kick, allowing an opposing player to score the winning goal.
In short, Iain Brines did none of those things, and yet he still received the blame, at least from Mixu Paatelainen, for Hibernian's 4-3 defeat by Morton in the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Tuesday night. The Hibs manager did eventually accept that
his own players had got things wrong, but only after he had lambasted the referee for making a couple of supposedly crucial errors.
It was an interesting approach for Paatelainen to take, and perhaps one which was decided on after careful consideration. True, the Finn had been sent to the stands by Brines in the closing stages of extra-time after showing his frustration, so may have been in the mood to have a go at the match official. But the decision to express his solidarity with his players was surely born of intelligence rather than impetuousness.
After a very poor pre-season, matters had been steadily improving for Hibs in the SPL. They lost at Kilmarnock on the opening day, but then beat Falkirk at home then got a point at Inverness. The defeat by Morton, however, exposed their shortcomings anew, and may well have a lasting effect on morale.
By praising his players' spirited fightback, Paatelainen showed an awareness that they might need to be buoyed up rather than criticised, and a knowledge that a public display of unity could be useful.
During those weeks in summer in which Hibs lost to Barcelona, Clyde and Cowdenbeath, rumours began to circulate around Edinburgh that Paatelainen, like John Collins before him, had lost the confidence of some of his squad. The manager himself, however, insisted that he had never worried about "losing" the dressing room or failing to get through to his staff.
Perhaps just as significantly, not a single player so much as hinted in public about dissent in the dressing-rooms, which is what invariably happens when there are splits between the coaching staff and playing personnel. Those players who have been earmarked by Paatelainen as surplus to requirements are clearly not going to be deliriously happy, but the ones who are in his plans appear to be willing to play for him.
Willing, but not necessarily able. Paatelainen has been able to bring in some players, but his budget is a tight one, and none of his signings has yet shown himself to be of a significantly higher quality than the bulk of his team-mates.
In such a situation, of course, it is up to the manager to motivate his team into performing as a real unit and regularly playing above themselves, and this is something the Finn has yet to succeed in doing. But some of the problems in the team were evident long before he took over at the start of the year, and are not the sort of thing – unless you have millions to spend – which can be quickly sorted out.
Goalkeeping is perhaps the prime example. Neither Yves Makalambay, just back from the Olympics and a spectator on Tuesday, nor Andy McNeil, who started the match but was taken off with a head knock, looks like a viable long-term option. David Grof, who came on for McNeil towards the end of the first half, should have done better at Morton's fourth goal, but he is a young and inexperienced keeper who cannot be expected to perform wonders yet.
In other words, the quality is not there yet. If Hibs are serious about building up a squad to challenge for honours – and many of the club's supporters doubt that – they need a seasoned, gaffe-proof goalkeeper. Not to mention a few recruits in other positions.
Of course, it does not help when your most talented players, such as Steven Fletcher, fail to turn chances into goals. Even allowing for a fine performance by Morton goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert, the Hibs striker should have done better.
So there are things for Paatelainen to work on, and if he is to prove himself as a manager at this level he will have to get more out of the players he has. But he cannot shoulder the responsibility alone.
In their own way, Hibernian's notoriously parsimonious board of directors are as much to blame for Tuesday night's result as Paatelainen. Or his players. Or even Iain Brines.
The full article contains 764 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
