Kyle Magennis insists the Hibs dressing room remain firmly behind Lee Johnson - even those who have been told they’ve no future in Leith.
Johnson launched a furious broadside on his players to the media after Monday’s derby defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle accusing too many of mediocrity and vowing to clear out “dead wood”.
The under-pressure boss, who revealed up to 10 could be shipped out in January, blanked his side in the immediate aftermath of their Hearts humbling and bodyswerved the away dressing room leaving his squad to conduct their own post-mortem.
Johnson has since been accused of throwing players under the bus.
But Magennis, who’s been told he is safe from the cull, revealed the manager had already told those who are headed for the exit that they’re surplus to requirements before Monday’s Gorgie horror show - their ninth defeat in 11 games.
And the forward insists those players will continue to give their all for the club if required as Hibs enter a sequence of games starting at Motherwell that could define their season and determine the manager’s future.
He said: “The gaffer has spoken to us.
“He’s told us he still believes in us and we’re still part of the team until such times someone moves on.
“The ones who are not part of his plans are still at Hibs, they’re still being paid by Hibs.
“If they’re not (giving their all) it’s not good enough from them. They’re contracted to the club and they still need to give their all in training and for the team.
“All the boys are still behind the gaffer. We’re looking forward to Sunday.
“It’s a big game for all of us.
“I think it’s come out worse than it is. He’s obviously already spoken to a few boys to let them know where they stand.
“That was done before the game or in the weeks before.
“He’s told these guys what position they’re in.
“Obviously, it’s good for me that he wants me to stay. I’m a Hibs player and I want to do well for the club.
“Hopefully as a group we can turn it round for him.”
Johnson explained his dressing room no-show was a chance for the players to have their own heart-to-heart in the body of their arch rivals home.
Whether the clear the air talks will have the desired effect remains to be seen but Magennis insists some brutal home truths were told even if he refused to name the most outspoken.
He said: “I’ll keep that between the squad. What goes on in the changing room, I’m not going to discuss.
“The manager’s come out and and said why he did it. Sometimes there’s a more honest conversation between the boys when the manager is not there.
“We know it’s not good enough. It was disappointing for us players, the manager and the fans. It was a bad day all round but we just need to try and stay positive.
“Sometimes it’s the assistants who come in and have a go at you. The boys all know it wasn’t good enough. There’s not much the gaffer could have said that we didn’t already know.
“Clear the air talks definitely help. The boys do it after games even when we win. We look at what we could do better and we have a debate between ourselves. It doesn’t mean anybody is falling out. That’s just what happens in changing rooms.”
Pressure is intensifying on Johnson with trigger-happy owner Ron Gordon having axed Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney in the last 13 months.
And Magennis, who played under both, insists it’s up to the players to ensure there’s not a third management casualty in little over a year.
He said: “It’s down to us. The gaffer and the staff can only do so much during the week but when we go out on a Saturday or whatever day it is and we don’t perform the way we should then ultimately it’s down to us.
“We’ve been trying the last few weeks to look for the answer.
“The gaffer has changed the team a few times but we’ve not seem to have found the answer yet. Hopefully we can on Sunday.
“We’ve been on a run of wins previously so there’s no reason we can’t do that again.”
• Kyle Magennis helped launch the new 2022/23 SPFL Match Attax Collection, on sale now in Scottish retailers and via Topps.com
