Hibs boss Jack Ross hopes the battle for Europe can help his players recover from their bruising Edinburgh derby defeat.
The manager says he and his staff have been using the prospect of European qualification as a carrot for his side since returning from the mid-season break.
The Hibees went down 3-1 to Hearts on Tuesday night, and Ross is keen that his players get the result out their system as soon as possible.
He said: "We've used (the possibility of qualifying for Europe as motivation) post-break.
"We used the opportunity while we were away to speak collectively and look for goals and targets for the rest of the season.
"It was something I didn't think was not achievable for the players but we still need to strive towards it. We also need other things to fall our way as we're not in the box seat.
"We also first of all have to secure our top-six place.
"But those two probably go hand in hand right now. Securing the top six would allow us to look to challenge higher up such is the closeness of it at the moment.
"But the important thing is that drive is there right now and we still have a chance of achieving that.
"It's important we don't forget the progress we've made."
Hibs will be without Marc McNulty for tomorrow's trip to Aberdeen, after the striker accepted a two game ban for stamping on Sean Clare during the derby defeat.
