Shaun Maloney has urged Hibs boo boys to direct their anger at him and not his players after Drey Wright and James Scott were jeered just for coming off the bench.
The Easter Road boss admits he’s never experienced a situation like in the 76th minute of last weekend’s 2-0 win over Ross County.
Both substitutes were greeted with loud boos from the home sections from the moment they stepped on the park to help ease the side to a first Premiership win in six games.
Maloney reckons he inherited the issue surrounding the two players and their supporters when he took over in December.
But he has told supporters both players have important parts to play as the club chase a European spot - although Scott along with Elias Melkersen will miss tomorrow’s clash with Celtic through illness.
He said: “I would never tell a fan what they should be thinking. This is their club but it’s hard for the players to hear that.
“These players have been really good. Drey Wright’s been really good for me. James Scott has trained extremely hard and I feel that some of this I’ve inherited.
“I don’t understand the negativity about this. Both of them came on at a stage where we were winning 1-0.
“ Kevin Nisbet and Ewan Henderson had worked extremely hard out of possession against Ross County and there were things I needed from James and Drey.
“They covered a lot of distance for the team. And I needed a striker with a certain profile at that point to try and put pressure on Ross County and James gave us that, with speed in the final area and strength.
“It’s hard for both players to hear that. I wish the pressure had just been on me to take everything away from the players.
“I haven’t heard that before.
"I felt similar with Kevin Nisbet. That’s slowly changing. I feel that there’s a real connection starting between the support and Kevin – both ways.
“Those two players know how much support I can give them. I play them, I pick them – that’s a big indication of how much I think of them.
“For the rest of the season, I think Drey and James, and the players on the bench, some of whom haven’t played, I think the squad in general has a big part to play.
"Look, we have eight people missing this week so I am going to need 13/14 senior players - which is all we have - I am going to need every single one of them. If it is different in three or four weeks time and I have 21/22, with the number of games we are going to have, I am still going to need every one of those players at some point.”
Ryan Porteous is another with a big role to play.
The defender is being probed after police launched an investigation into two incidents outside a Dalkeith bar last weekend.
A female was reportedly struck with a plastic tumbler which was thrown and taken to hospital.
Maloney reckons Porteous’ performances on the park should earn him a Scotland call-up - but warned his behaviour off it must match.
He said: “I’ve spoken to Ryan this week and he is available for selection.
“He is an outstanding young centre back and I would never tell a national team manager who to select but he has to be at a point where he is pushing other players in his position for selection.
“So, he has to really keep that progression on the pitch and, moving forward, he has to make sure he is doing that on the pitch and off the pitch as well.”
Celtic are up next on Sunday. Ange Postecoglou’s squad face a quick turnaround from Thursday night’s Europa League defeat to Bodo/Glimt in Norway.
But Maloney said: “I don’t see it as a problem. It’s something I’m fighting for here as a club and I hope we have these types of conversations in the near future.
“I’ll never see playing in Europe as anything other than a privilege.
“I love European football and I loved it as a player. I know I’m at the very beginning of my time here, but a real big passion is to try to get European football in the group stages here.
“So, I would never ever see that as a negative - and I don’t see that as a negative for Celtic.
“Finishing fourth has to be the objective. But it’s also the objective of four or five other teams, so it’s going to be a fight for that position - and I hope that it’s us who come out on top.
“It’s a big challenge this weekend and I’m really looking forward to it.
“We have to be as aggressive as we possibly can out of possession and really the same in possession.
“We have to be as brave as we were at Celtic Park but the difference has to be we have to go and create more chances and be as clinical as we can when we get them.”
Meanwhile Lewis Stevenson reckons he’s played four different roles in six weeks, left-back, centre half and midfield, but is delighted the last one was as captain.
The 34-year-old, who sits fourth on Hibs’ all-time record appearance list, said: “I’m learning all the time. There’s things I’ve learned in the last six weeks that I’ve never known before.
“Some defensive things.. I don’t really know if I’m allowed to say this! But little things like body shape and different ways to recover that I never used to.
“I’ve played left centre back a couple of times, actually against Rangers and Celtic. Maybe with the modern game I probably get away with it. Back in the day when it was against the Hartson’s and Jelavic’s and players like that I wouldn’t have.
“But the game’s changed. There’s a lot more balls in behind rather than teams just lofting balls up.
“It’s been nice having the armband. I’m probably not the most stereotypical captain, a shouter and baller. The gaffer said to me not to try and change who I am. I’ve seen it in the past that people get the armband and try and change who they are. It doesn’t really work. I’ve just been myself and the boys have taken to it quite well.”
Looking ahead to Sunday, Stevenson said: “I said to someone I felt we’d let ourselves down against the Old Firm this season but I probably did us a disservice because we pushed Celtic all the way in the cup final.
“We hung in there and it does help against the Old Firm if you can frustrate them for as long as possible and not lose an early goal.
“At Parkhead we kept the ball well at times but again it was that final third, we need to find a way to hurt them more.
“If you lose an early goal it’s hard because you need to open up and that’s exactly what they want.
“It might happen on Sunday so we can’t freeze and chuck it after that. We need to stick to our gameplan.
“We have had eight days to work on this game so hopefully we will have a plan in place that can give them a few problems.
“It’s small margins. I don’t think you can be overawed by them. You have to give them respect, but don’t show them respect at the same time!
“You want to give them a bleeding nose, let them know they’re in a game.
“The level of players they have, they’re probably technically better, but anything can happen.
“If we get them on an off day and we play well we’ve got a great chance.”
