John Hughes insisted he would stick to his passing principles with Hibernian, despite seeing similar stubbornness cost Tony Mowbray his job at Celtic. "It's just a case of finding the balance," he said.

"You go and watch Manchester United, you go and watch Barcelona.

"Every now and again, you just need to mix it and play the longer pass.

"If you've got the ball all the time and keep mixing it and passing it then the other team aren't going to get there to score."

Indeed, Hughes went further by admitting he did not believe his side would be able to replicate the style of play that saw them flying high in third in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League until last month.

"If we could get back to playing some of the good football we were playing the early part of the season, the first half of the season, then great," he said.

"But I don't think that's going to be the case."