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Hibs defender Jordon Forster insists the Leith side are guilty of not using their head as they stagger towards the Championship title.
The Leith side seem determined to put their head coach, Neil Lennon, and their fans through the wringer in their quest to land promotion back to the top flight at the third attempt.
They twice had to come from behind to secure a draw with part-timers Dumbarton on Saturday.
A run of one victory in six matches is hardly championship-winning form but their rivals seem incapable of taking advantage and the Easter Road club even stretched their lead at the summit to seven points over Falkirk.
Getting fired up for the big games has not been a problem; Hibs beat promotion hopefuls Dundee United in their previous game and have already knocked city rivals Hearts out of the Scottish Cup, but Forster has offered a straight forward reason for failing to see off so called lesser sides.
“I think the big thing is mentally,” said the 23-year-old. “Dundee United on Friday night on TV, a packed stadium and then you come to Saturday against Dumbarton, the game is obviously not on TV and maybe psychologically we were not prepared for the game properly.
“That’s got to be the problem, mentally. On paper we’re the better team, we’re by far the better team on the pitch but maybe we didn’t start the game properly and a bit of slackness kicked in.
“You see it throughout the divisions and throughout different standards of football, a team is on a high and going into the next game they drop points.
“For us it’s finding a balance and being a lot more consistent because that’s the problem right now.”
Hibs host Fakirk and Morton, who are both locked on 48 points in second and third respectively, in their next two games and Forster reckons going into matches where that stakes are high is a good thing.
He added: “Consistency is key and right now we’re struggling with that and it’s up to us to repay the fans for their backing to sort it out.
“The next two games are massive for us, they’re both pretty close to us.
“Thankfully right now we’re playing well in bigger games”
Dumbarton striker Christian Nade, meanwhile, admits he was disappointed the Hibs fans did not single him out for abuse before he scored.
The Frenchman netted his sixth career goal against Hibs when the opener from the penalty spot
Nade, who has never lost to Hibs when he has scored against them, said: “I am happy being here. I know the fans here give me abuse.
“They tried not to give me abuse but I wanted to make them do it.
“The last game I played here I was upset because they didn’t boo me.
“I tried to get a reaction from them and that’s why I celebrated in front of them when I scored – to make them wake up.”
