Shaun Maloney admits Kevin Nisbet’s miss was a huge moment as he watched his Hibs side go down 2-0 at Parkhead.
But the new boss is backing his striker to take the next big opportunity as he urged his troops to get brave after defeat to Celtic.
Maloney admitted tiny lines are the difference after Nisbet's massive early miss.
He said: “That was a big moment and sometimes in these games those are the fine margins which have an impact.
“But I can’t say too much about Kevin because he’s been excellent since I’ve been here. He was probably the difference for us against Dundee United
.
“In those moments, sometimes strikers take them and sometimes they don’t.
“I’m pretty sure in the next game against Cove, he’ll be in exactly the same position and he has the quality to take it.”
Maloney’s team battled against the hosts without suspended stars such as Ryan Porteous and Paul McGinn and unavailable duo Ewan Henderson and Harry Clarke.
Elias Melkerson is waiting for a work permit, whilst Chris Mueller was an unused sub.
Maloney said: “I can take a lot of positives from the game.
“For one thing the mentality was good, to go 2-0 down and still try and play like we did.
“I actually thought some of our play in the first two thirds was pretty good.
“Moving forward we have to try and use that to create more chances.
“It was just that final bit where we had to be more aggressive to take the one v ones. That was maybe the difference.
“It wasn’t about bravery because it’s hard to play under that pressure.
“We’re at Celtic Park against a team that’s been on really good form before the break.
“I just think that when we get to the final third we’re more aggressive. But I can’t ask the boys to be more brave.
“There were lots of really good things from us up until the final part. I can’t be anything but really proud of them.”
