Jack Ross urges Hibs to trust themselves as Motherwell draw extends poor run

Hibernian manager Jack Ross urged his players to “retain trust” in themselves after a 1-1 home draw against Motherwell lengthened a “difficult run” of results.

The Easter Road side have now won just one of their last eight league games and have slipped to seventh in the cinch Premiership table.

They looked to be heading for a morale-boosting victory after Kevin Nisbet’s first-half opener.

But Tony Watt’s equaliser on the hour mark levelled things up for Motherwell and left Hibs searching for answers to a disastrous spell.

Ross said: “We are in a difficult run at the moment and it would be more concerning if we weren’t getting effort, application and creativity.

“In the second half certainly I would say we played well. We created a lot, we had a lot of attacking players at the end of the game, but we just couldn’t get that goal our play deserved.

“In terms of how we have played, we have not looked like a team that is doubting itself.

“It’s just frustrating for them and it’s about ensuring they retain trust in what they do because that’s the biggest challenge when you go through a period like this.

“It’s human nature you’ll question yourself, because the noise will get to you. It’s crucial they keep that clear-headedness.

“At the start of this period we didn’t play well, here against Dundee United and up at Pittodrie (against Aberdeen).

“But latterly we have been okay; it’s just turning that into results, which we need to do.”

Motherwell counterpart Graham Alexander is adamant his team fully deserved to leave the capital with a point.

Kevin Van Veen, Dean Cornelius and Watt all spurned excellent chances before Nisbet’s opener and the Fir Park boss was relieved to see Watt earn a draw after the break.

He said: “In the first half we had some brilliant chances and should have been in the lead at half-time instead of a goal down.

“But we didn’t want to feel sorry for ourselves and make it a bad-luck story.

“We had to go and make it happen in the second half and it was a deserved equaliser. It was the least we deserved.

“We were up against a good team, with a lot of support, and I thought the players handled that very well.

“They started the second half quite well, but we got that goal that we needed and wanted and deserved.”