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Hibs head coach Neil Lennon admits he wants more consistency from referees, but not when it comes to sending off his players.
The former Celtic manager is feeling hard done by after having Marvin Bartley and Lewis Stevenson dismissed in back-to-back matches.
Midfielder Bartley’s red card for a tackle on Ayr United’s Jamie Adams was downgraded to yellow on appeal but the damage had already been done after the Honest Men made the most of their numerical advantage to inflict Hibs’ first Championship defeat of the season.
Lennon also lamented referee Steven McLean’s decision to show defender Lewis Stevenson a second yellow card for a coming together with Dale Hilson during the weekend’s goal-less draw at leaders Queen of the South.
And he is adamant that the Leith outfit should have been awarded a second half penalty when captain David Gray went down under a challenge from Chris Higgins.
With Hibs looking to return to winning ways in Sunday’s televised visit of Dundee United, Lennon is hoping his team will get the rub of the green when it comes to refereeing decisions.
He said: “I thought it was harsh, the winger has cut across Louie and he has got nothing else to do.
“He’s (Stevenson) trying to stop his momentum from going into him. He’s (Hilson) actually on his way down before there is contact. I don’t get it.
“Look at (Erik) Sviatchenko at Inverness (in the game against Celtic), the guy’s clean through. (Ross) Draper cuts across and goes down; no yellow card, no free-kick.
“Against Queen of the South, we’re down to ten men. That’s a lack of a consistency that I’m not happy about.
“The penalty is a penalty, give us a penalty. Davie has nicked it around Higgins and Higgins has gone through him.”
Lennon was critical of his forwards in the draw at Palmerston, particularly Jason Cummings, and is demanding a better performance against United.
Speaking to Hibs TV, he added: “I want to see improvement. Our confidence is high, we’re at home and we’ll be a bit more demanding again with what we want from the players, and we’re looking forward to it.
“It’s going to be on the telly and it’s a Sunday game. It should be a good crowd so we’re looking forward to it.”
