WHEN Hibernian took the lead against champions Rangers at Ibrox in October, they were heading for the summit of the Premiership before Ryan Porteous’ red card led to a pivotal 2-1 defeat. Having since burned their way through two managers and been denied a top-six finish by bitter rivals Hearts, Paul McGinn admits he cannot quite believe they are still in the same turbulent campaign.

Shaun Maloney’s sacking after just four months in charge this week has brought sharp focus to the Easter Road side’s failings. Only one win in their last 13 in the league, plus a Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Hearts just a week after a crucial league reverse, was ultimately enough for chairman Ron Gordon to rule Maloney’s time was already up.

It was a shock decision that McGinn says Maloney handled with class and decorum when he addressed his squad on Tuesday morning before handing over the reins on a temporary basis to caretaker David Gray for the final five games of the season, which start with this afternoon’s trip to face St Mirren.

McGinn confesses results have been sub-standard and he hopes Maloney’s exit is an indication of the ambition within Easter Road to succeed. However, with a League Cup final defeat and last weekend’s semi-final reverse to Hearts being packed into a remarkable season that kicked off with European football, the defender accepts there is plenty of work to do to ensure the club gets on an upward trajectory again.

“It’s mostly on us, really, isn’t it?,” he said of Maloney’s departure. “It’s a results business and that’s the sign of a not-so successful season. Don’t get me wrong, we got to a final and a semi and the margin of not being in the top-six is pretty small.

“So it’s not a disaster. But it’s still not where Hibs want to be. That’s a quite clear sign of it.

“I suppose it’s a good sign from the club, it shows the level the chairman wants to get to. We should be up there as one of the big clubs in the country and staying about, as an Aberdeen have done for so long. We can’t yo-yo about and there are negative sides to both, but I can see where they are coming from.

“We were talking about it recently, remember that game at Ibrox when Ryan Porteous was sent-off. If he doesn’t get sent-off we are flying high and it’s bizarre to think it’s the same season, it’s a strange feeling.

“It shows you what happens in football if you don’t get things right. We look back and think, ‘is that the same season?’. It wasn’t three games in, we’d played a decent spell [eight matches].”

It was suggested this week that the Hibs hierarchy acted because they were worried about being dragged into a relegation battle. In seventh, but eight points clear of second-bottom St Johnstone with 15 points to play for, McGinn is adamant he and his team-mates have not discussed that dreaded possibility.

However, with just three wins inside 90 minutes in 17 games since the turn of the year, the 31-year-old acknowledges a desperate demand for an upturn in fortunes.

“We need to win games,” he added. “It becomes a habit and it has become a habit the other way and we have not been winning as much. Last season, we won most weeks so we know it’s small margins both ways. But we want to get back to winning most weeks.”

Meanwhile, McGinn is hopeful of finalising a new contract to stay on at Hibs beyond the expiry of his current deal this summer.

“We’ve had positive talks on that,” he said. “There’s been a lot going on, so hopefully that’s sorted soon. I’ll just concentrate on the games and we’ll take it from there.”