Thursday, April 25, 2024
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Hibs head coach Neil Lennon tells his players to stop relying on Jason Cummings for goals

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Hibs head coach Neil Lennon insists his team have to stop relying solely on striker Jason Cummings for goals.

The Scotland Under-21 internationalist has scored eight of his side’s 12 Championship strikes this season and has been directly responsible for 11 points of the 15 that the Leith side have collected.

Cummings netted a superb long-range effort in the weekend’s visit of Ayr United but both the 21-year-old and his team-mates were guilty of letting the Honest Men off the hook after Ian McCall’s side took advantage of Marvin Bartley’s sending off to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Hibs.

Neil LennonAndrew Shinne, Grant Holt and Brian Graham have each notched one in the league, while Dunfermline defender Ben Richards-Everton netted an own goal at Easter Road last month, and former Celtic manager Lennon insists his team must help out Cummings when it comes to scoring.

Lennon, whose side will aim to return to the Championship summit in this weekend’s top of the table clash at Queen of the South, said: “We can’t keep relying on Jason, it was a great goal and he had chances to put the game to bed.

“But I’m looking at the other players now to come to the fore.

“Jason has got eight already. It’s a fantastic return but with the amount of chances we’re creating, and working the ball into good areas, we’re not making the most of it.

“We’re lacking a bit of composure in front of goal for some reason and you can’t give that to players, it’s got to come from within.

“Could we have been a few ahead before Ayr scored? No question.

“We have to stop being wasteful in front of goal because things like that can happen sometimes.”

Hibs, meanwhile, have intimated their attention to appeal against Bartley’s game-changing 67th minute red card after the midfielder was ordered off for a late tackle on Ayr player Jamie Adams.

Bartley is facing an automatic two-game ban but the case is set to be heard by an appeals tribunal at Hampden on Thursday.

Speaking to Hibs TV, Lennon said: “We paid the price for a poor refereeing performance and a decision that ultimately influenced the course of the game, it’s not a sending off.

“He’s gone in with one leg, he’s low off the ground, there’s no malice in it. It was going on all over the pitch.”

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