Lee Johnson won’t let critics distract him from reversing Hibs’ fortunes

[ad_1]

Lee Johnson is adamant that he won’t allow criticism from his supporters to distract him from the fortunes of the Hibernians.

The manager has come under fire after a run of seven defeats in eight games.

However, he insists he is comfortable with fans venting their anger in his direction and remains confident he can win them over.

I don’t watch the review, but I’m not stupid, I know it’s there, he said ahead of Saturday’s Premiership visit to Livingston. I’ve managed around 490 games so I’ve been through all the spells both as a player and as a manager.

I know that can change if you stick to your guns and improve the process, like we had to do at this club. There are a lot of things we need to work on and improve on throughout the club, and the manager is being criticized for that, and that’s fair enough.

I can deal with that and I do my best every day to try to move the club forward. I make every decision as if I’m going to stay here for a long time, based on my values, my principles and the way I play.

I think we can still achieve a lot this season and prepare for the seasons to come. But we must do more than what we have done.

I have managed big clubs, I understand. I think the fan base is looking for people to blame, and rightly so.

It’s their club and they have a right to complain, but they also need to understand that we’re doing everything we can to try to make it happen for them and for the greater good of the team.

It’s good that people are upset, and we hear that and do everything we can to improve, but when we do, obviously we hope there’s unity and we can be even more powerful and succeed in the future.

Johnson remained the subject of criticism in some quarters after last Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Rangers, with some fans complaining that Hibs sat too deep after taking a 2-1 lead.

I think you could see from the performance of the players at Ibrox that they are not a team short on conviction, Johnson said. People say we told them to back off, but of course we didn’t.

Any sane human being would have said at half time to keep doing exactly what you did well in the first half in the second half but the quality and speed of play of the oppositions went a bit improved and you become slightly fatigued due to the circumstances, allowing upsides to pick you.

At football, you’re not going to stop because of the noise. You can only control the controllable and that’s where you have to put all your energy because if you don’t stay clear and concise in your decision-making, that’s where it all falls apart.

Johnson has denied a report claiming Hibs will allow Croatian left-back Marijan Cabraja to leave in January, despite confirming the club will take advantage of an early break clause in the club’s season-long loan move of Momo Bojangs Gambian Rainbow FC, with the 21-year-old having struggled to make an impact since joining Easter Road in the summer.

[ad_2]