NEIL LENNON has urged his Hibernian to "nip in the bud" a worrying sense of deja vu in their title bid.
The Easter Road men again have the excitement of a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to after ending an infamous 114-year wait for the trophy last year.
Their incredible knockout progress last season also saw them reach the League Cup final before losing to Ross County.
But they suffered badly in the league, going on a run of just one win in eight that allowed Rangers to storm to the Championship title.
The capital outfit sit top of the second-tier and could strengthen their grip on top spot with a win against promotion rivals Dundee United tonight.
They head for Tannadice buoyed by their cup form but also on the back of a run of four league games without a win.
And Lennon has warned they must guard against a repeat of last seasons’s spectacular collapse amidst the excitement of cup success.
Lennon, who described reports linking him with a summer move for Rangers striker Kenny Miller as ‘speculation’ said: “Psychologically, the cup has been a distraction, no question, and it showed in the body language and the performances. But now we don't have that for a while so we can switch that off.
“That is down to the players. I can say what I want time after time after time, but they have got to switch on to the league now.
“We are seeing similarities with this time last year, which is something I want to nip in the bud - as quickly as possible.
“There’s no question it is psychological. Last year, they went eight games with just one win but they still had the cup wins.
“We’re having a decent cup run again and now we’re four without a win in the league so there is no question there are similarities.
“Now, the semi-final is out of the way and the League Cup is done and dusted, so the only thing that we should be concentrating on is the league.”
From Dundee United's point of view, at least that of defender Lewis Toshney, they believe the Championship race should be already wrapped up by their team directly above them.
Toshney, whose set to return from a three-week hamstring injury, said: "There’s more pressure on Hibs to be honest at this present time. They are above us in the league. They are seven points clear at this moment in time so the pressure is on them.
"We are going into this game, obviously it is a massive game for us too, thinking we do need to go and win this. But we will play our own game and hopefully come away with the win.
"We have thrown away silly points to be honest throughout the course of the season. But you could say the same about Hibs. They could be out of sight really.
"It is still tight and we are still looking up, we are not looking below us. It’s seven points at the moment and hopefully we can make it four on Friday."
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