Lee Johnson shows 'psychotic' side as Hibs player handed chased by lions poser after GPS scrutiny

In an up and down beginning to the season, Hibs have been reminded that there is a certain law of the jungle that applies when seeking to survive and thrive.

After a disappointing start to the competitive action, against Inter Club d’Escaldes away, the Easter Road side restored pride back on home territory. But that pride came before a fall as the opening league game against St Mirren failed to go the way the staff, the squad or the fans anticipated.

Losing 2-0 they got themselves back in the hunt but were stalked and pounced on in the dying minutes.

After the game that left manager Lee Johnson criticising the laziness of his players in transition and as they look ahead to what could prove an even more testing encounter, against FC Luzern in the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League, he doubled down on that assessment, suggesting the players concurred.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson addresses the media ahead of the Conference League match against Luzern. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

“No-one goes out to be lazy but fatigue makes cowards of us all,” he said of the mental and physical dip in performance from the Euro victory just days earlier. “I thought for the third goal Will Fish could’ve got back in quicker. I looked on the GPS because I’m psychotic like that and he ran at 82 percent of his maximum. So I asked him if a lion had been behind him, how much of his maximum would he have gone at and he said 103 per cent, which I thought was quite funny!” It was also illuminating, and honest, and an indication of what went wrong.

“It proves you have to do the work,” added Johnson. “Will’s one of the most honest players we’ve got, he’s never shirked anything, but on that occasion he either underestimated the opponent’s opportunity and thought he could amble in or fatigue has stopped him going as fast as he can. But really, it’s about motivation and how much you want to get there.

“I don’t do it to dig anyone out and punish them. We have to learn from this. It hurts badly but you get back on it and hopefully become a stronger team.”

Anticipating a different type of opponent than they faced in their first Euro tie, he says those mental slips, as well as individual errors have to be eradicated.

Hibs striker Adam Le Fondre has experience of playing in the Asian Champions League. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Expecting end to end action, he has concedes that while his team could not be accused of lacking attacking intent, that can often leave them exposed, as gaps open up in the middle of the park. Against a team he says likes to sweep upfield in a 4-2-4 formation, he is looking for better game management and the right compromise.

He will find no dissent from Adam Le Fondre, who may have just sampled his first taste of European action but has experienced the way different styles and varying calibres of opponents can test teams when it comes to continent-wide competition.

Looking back to his time playing in the Asian Champions League, he has sampled the highs and the lows and hopes that Hibs will enjoy more of the former rather than being schooled the way Sydney FC were when they came up against tougher Japanese rivals.

“Our game management was always a problem. We played against Shanghai when they had Hulk, and Elkeson and we had the better of the games but seemed to concede to a moment of madness or a moment of magic from their foreign players. Although, when we when played Ange Postecoglou’s Yokohama it was men against boys.

“I’d never actually played against a team that was so aggressive in the press before. When we were watching the clips, I was thinking, ‘we can exploit this, easy’ but then in the game the reality was we were miles off it. I didn’t even feel like a footballer compared to them! I was thinking ‘what the hell is going on?’ We just couldn’t get pressure on them and when we got the ball we were giving it away. It was a long game! We got such a caning, they bullied us all game.”

And he remembers how invested the Chinese and Japanese fans were as they packed stadiums for warm-ups and applauded each team off..

“The atmosphere in England and Scotland is almost tribal but when you go there, they are almost just happy to see football,” explained the former Premier League striker. “It was incredible.They were so respectful.

“Here it’s more like a pressure cooker. But I don’t think anyone would trade them for any foreign set of fans.”

The downside of that is being harangued as they exited the field in Andorra or being booed off the pitch at the weekend. But the flipside is obvious.

“You saw the difference when they lit up after our first goal on Sunday,” said Johnson. “That took us to the second goal. The boys felt the power of the fans, and the opposition dropped back, that was how the momentum changed.”

And, more of the same would be welcomed against FC Luzern.

“Never ever underestimate the part that the fanbase plays, both positive and negative. We have to accept both but obviously it’s much more ideal when it’s positive.

“Part of that is us scoring the first goal, though. The statistic is between 65 and 72 per cent throughout the world, if you score the first goal you’ll win the game but we haven’t scored enough first goals in the last year. Fifty-four percent of the time we’ve conceded the first goal and I’m saying ‘guys, we’ve got to turn that around..

“I don’t think it’s because we’re not trying to go on the front foot. I almost think it’s too honest as we’re vacating spaces based on wanting to score the first goal so much.”

But as they look to improve, they need to find a balance that works and chase every ball like there’s a lion on their tail.