BY DARREN JOHNSTONE @CCP_Sport
Hibs midfielder Dylan McGeouch has told Rangers: ‘you’re no different to us’.
Rangers playmaker Andy Halliday questioned earlier this week whether the Leith outfit had the bottle and character for a Championship title race after claiming the pressure on Hibs to win every game is less intense than it is at Ibrox.
But after Alan Stubbs’ side closed the gap on the leaders to two points on Tuesday when they chalked up a seventh successive league win against Livingston, McGeouch insists the expectation levels are just as high at Easter Road.
The former Celtic youngster said: “I wouldn’t really say they are any different from us. We need to win every game, the fans expect to win every game and with the quality we have in the squad – we expect to win every game.
“Obviously Rangers have quality as well and they are doing well but we are keeping the pressure on and we keep getting results so the pressure is on both teams.
“We both know we need to keep getting the results week in, week out, or if not then the other team is prepared to take advantage.
“Their fans think they should be winning every game but I think we are just as confident and the fans are just as confident in the squad.
“And we are going into games knowing that it will be disappointing if we don’t win. It’s great that we are challenging like that.”
Hibs showed a different side to their game on Tuesday after grinding out three points in a 2-1 victory against a plucky Livingston team and McGeouch insists they have all the attributes to last the pace at the summit.
He added: “You can see the run we are on just now. Some games we are going out and passing teams off the park and scoring three or four goals and sometimes, like Tuesday, we are digging away and getting results.
“I think that is the making of a good team, if you can win when you are not playing well.
“I wouldn’t even say it’s bottle, it’s just taking one game at a time, ticking them off one by one and taking the three points and moving on to the next one.
“With the depth of the squad there’s real quality, even on the bench and people are ready to step in and credit to everyone for doing that.
“Hopefully we can keep this run going. Last year we went on a great run and this year it looks like we are doing that again and hopefully we can keep going and get the results.”
Weekend
Hibs head coach Stubbs, whose side travel to Alloa on Saturday, reckons the title race will go down to the wire and McGeouch agrees.
He said: “If they keep winning their games and we keep winning our games then it will be close.
“But we just need to keep the pressure on and worry about ourselves, and if they drop points then they drop points but we just need to keep winning games.
“We are on a good run just now and if they drop points then we will be looking to close the gap on them. If we keep winning games, we will see how it goes.”
