HIBERNIAN manager Neil Lennon believes Derek McInnes’ decision to stay at Aberdeen changed their fortunes on the pitch.
McInnes last week ended a six-week saga surrounding his future by rejecting the chance to move to Rangers in favour of committing himself to the Dons.
Since McInnes made the decision to stay as manager at Pittodrie, his side have recorded back-to-back wins including a 3-0 triumph at St Johnstone on Wednesday, and Lennon has credited the manager for the team’s return to form.
Ahead of his side’s trip to play Aberdeen today, Lennon said: “It’s a very impressive result to go there and win 3-0.
“St Johnstone is not an easy place to go, so they look to have their form and their mojo back and I think that’s down to the manager.
“They have had a huge lift from Derek staying.”
Hibs travel to Pittodrie on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Rangers – a match they dominated – and Sunday’s 2-2 draw with unbeaten Celtic.
Defeat on Wednesday saw the gap between Hibs and the top three widen to six points, but the nature of the performance left Lennon confident his side can maintain their impressive start and finish as high as second in the table.
He said: “If Rangers are currently the second best team in the country, where are we? We’re six points behind at the minute, which is nothing with so much football to go.
“We have been very, very unfortunate not to pick up more points; we have not been dominated in any game other than at times against Celtic, which is understandable, and in the rest of the games, some of the football we have played has been outstanding.
“We were absolutely breathtaking on Wednesday night in the second half and deserved to get something out of the game.”
He added: “We have made huge strides in a short period of time but we can’t rest on our laurels and get patronising pats on the back either. We want to at least finish in the top four and that means winning games and performing against all the teams, not just against the top two or three.
“We have had a tough week in terms of the way the fixtures have panned out – this is our third game in six days against the top three– but we’re very much looking forward to the game against what looks like a rejuvenated Aberdeen team.”
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