Jack Ross insists the reaction to Christian Doidge ending his Hibernian goal drought in the 1-1 draw at Livingston is testament to the spirit in his squad as he backed the striker to put in a strong end to the season.
The Welsh striker was mobbed by his teammates after driving in his first goal since December to earn the Easter Road side a point at the Tony Macaroni Arena and edge them closer to European qualification.
Doidge had previously not found the net in 16 games and came under fire for missing a glut of opportunities in the home defeat to Motherwell at the start of March.
But Ross has kept faith with the forward and hailed his contribution outside of his goalscoring exploits in making Hibs tick in their push for Europe.
“I was chatting to him yesterday and that was one of the things we spoke about,” Ross said.
“I’ve said before that the fact he has not been scoring genuinely doesn’t bother me because his overall contribution is so good.
“But it was an important goal for us at an important time of the game because we weren’t playing that well at that point in the game.
“They are a close group. We’re small in numbers but we’ve fostered a common ambition as well which helps and they recognise the job that Christian does for the team. I think they all understand that.
“He’s a popular boy in that changing room and I’m really pleased for him."
The forward has played second fiddle to strike partners Martin Boyle and Kevin Nisbet this season, but Ross is hopeful his goal can be the spark for late-season streak of scoring.
"Over the last few weeks, I think we’ve had individual players who look at their best and Christian is one of them,” he said.
“He’s looked really sharp, really lively. It’s good to have players hitting form at the right time.”
The visitors dominated the second period in West Lothian despite falling a goal behind after Ryan Porteous' error allowed Craig Sibbald to open the scoring.
Doidge and Boyle were both off target as the points were shared, but it was enough to edge Hibs further ahead of Aberdeen in third heading into the Premiership split.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t get the result we deserved in the second half, but I’m pleased with how we played and then given results elsewhere, it’s another step forward,” he said.
“But it’s not easy coming to a venue against a team that have been good this season.
“I felt that if we matched Aberdeen’s result coming into the split we would be in a good position and we’ve bettered it.
“We’re in a healthy position. The group feel good about themselves, so we’re looking forward to it.”
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