James McPake is desperate for someone to put the ball in the net for Hibs after a second straight 1-0 loss kept them firmly in the relegation fight with Dunfermline. Hibs lost to Kilmarnock last week and loss against St Mirren on Sunday to leave them just three points above SPL bottom club Dunfermline, who beat Aberdeen 3-0 the previous day, with just three games left. Eoin Doyle missed two good chances for Hibs at St Mirren Park, although Craig Samson produced an impressive save from the latter. The only goal of the game came from Kenny McLean for the home side in the 65th minute. Hibs have to play Aberdeen away, Dunfermline are at Inverness, before the two teams face each other at Easter Road next Monday.
McPake said: "It's a horrible feeling knowing that we can be caught but everyone in the dressing room has to stand up and be counted because we have a lot of hard work on our hands to keep the club in this division. I think we have enough character in the dressing room to keep the team in the league. We have just got to keep doing what we are doing but being a bit more clinical at either end. In the past two games, we have lost two chances and conceded two goals but we have created 10 or 12 chances. We just haven't been clinical enough, and that's not a go at the strikers because midfielders and defenders at corners, someone has got to stand up and put the ball in the net for us."
Hibs were without top scorer Garry O'Connor against the Buddies. He was suffering from illness after going off against Kilmarnock with an ankle knock, and the former Birmingham and Lokomotiv Moscow forward remains a doubt for Pittodrie. McPake said: "He's a threat, he can score different goals. He's a big-game player and a presence that defenders are wary of. His name and where he has played, that puts doubt in other defenders' minds. He's a quality striker and we could be doing with having him fit."
St Mirren drew 4-4 with Dunfermline the previous weekend and their manager Danny Lennon anticipates next week's Easter Road game being highly significant. Lennon said: "It's going to be very, very tight. Both teams were full of commitment, passion and I think it's going to be a close one to call. I think it might come down to their game next Monday. It's got the makings of a classic."