Last updated : 29 February 2008 By Ed_ScottishFitba
Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen knows his side will be hard pushed to make it five wins in a row when Celtic arrive this weekend. He has warned his side they still have "a long way to go" before they can think about European football despite wins over Gretna, Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle before Wednesday's comfortable 2-0 win over Falkirk. The win over the Bairns secured their place in fifth in the SPL and also boosted confidence ahead of Saturday's game. Paatelainen was particularly satisfied with the way his team defended, acknowledging they will need another sound defensive display against the Parkhead visitors. However, the Finn admitted he is still not satisfied with the progress his side have made since he took over from John Collins seven weeks ago.
He said: "I think we have a long way to go, although results have recently been good. I don't think we're playing as well as we should. Defensively on Wednesday night was fantastic, a great display, because Falkirk are a good passing team and can score goals. I was really pleased to keep a clean sheet. The midfield and back-four defending was really good and hopefully we will have a similar display on Saturday. One good thing playing the Old Firm is that nobody expects anything. They are the firm favourites and will come here to take three points. But we'll try our best against a top, top team."
Paatelainen has not stood still and been content to work with the squad he inherited from Collins. He has added Ian Murray, Colin Nish, John Rankin, Martin Canning and Abdel Zarabi to the pool of talent available, pushing the likes of Lewis Stevenson, Kevin McCann and Clayton Donaldson out of the first-team picture. However, Paatelainen has urged patience from those not currently involved. He added: "It is important to have a competitive squad and competition for places. I do feel we have that, we have players who can play in every department. Ross Campbell, who hasn't featured at all, even on the bench, came in last night for the second half and put in a fantastic performance. We have good players, not only on the bench but in the stand as well. Those players just need to keep their head down and make sure when their time comes to perform they do well and keep their place."
