Jack Iredale bites back at Hibs 'bottle' accusations - 'I'd go to war with these boys'

Defiant Jack Iredale says he'd go to war with his Hibs teammates - and isn't having the accusation that they don't have any bottle.

The Leith men have been hammered for their apparent lack of minerals especially late in games this season. But boss David Gray reckons their stunning injury-time fight back in Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Aberdeen has gone some way to silencing the naysayers.

And defender Iredale, who is hoping to build on that draw when they head to Motherwell on Saturday, has no concerns about the spirit in the dressing room. He said: “I can understand when you look at periods of the game where we've conceded goals but at the same time, I've got no questions about the character in that team. That's a changing room of boys that I would want to go to war with and we are just really getting punished for things.

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“When you're not getting that bounce of the ball, it just feels like everything's on top of you. But in terms of character in that team, we've got leaders in there. I'm trying to be one myself, but we've got multiple leaders in there that we are relying on. “

Iredale insists Joe Newell has not shirked his responsibility as captain and is constantly trying to rally the troops. He added: “I think Joey, especially as captain, has been exceptional for us this week, especially with the messages that he's given us and the way that he's led.

“I think his performance on Tuesday night showed that. And if we're following Joey into battle, then everyone's right behind him and the manager as well. Joey's a really upbeat character. He's a really positive guy and I think that's super important.

"You don't want to be walking around feeling like there's a dark cloud above you. And I can imagine that he's been going through a tough time as well as captain of this club. But just the way that he's kept us together as a group, I think, is massive.”

Hibs have been hit with another injury blow after Marvin Ekipteta was ruled out for up to ten weeks with a thigh injury The defender has sat out the last two games with the issue and Gray has revealed the extent of the problem.

Gray, who is already without striker Kieran Bowie due to a serious hamstring problem, said: “We don’t know exactly how long Marvin will be out but it's a number of weeks, it'll be eight weeks, ten weeks - something like that.

"So it is quite a significant injury, unfortunately. It was really innocuous in training, just a simple 10-yard pass. He stepped into the ball, went to pass it and unfortunately just overstretched his thigh in that moment,

“He maybe had a bit of a tough start, adapting to Scottish football. But I think since then, he's defended really well and really settled into the team. And it's a big blow for him because he was really finding his feet in this league.”

Motherwell sit 10 points better off than Hibs up in fifth and a big part of their decent start to the campaign has been the form of 18-year-old Lennon Miller. Gray added: “I think he's been excellent - for such a young player to come in and play week in, week out in this league it's difficult.

“He's got great bravery on the ball, he plays forward a lot and it takes courage to do that. If he gives the ball away, he still attempts to do it again. "So you can see he's got a good temperament for such a young player and he's a one-off.”