Nectar Triantis thought he’d heeded David Gray’s note of caution after his two yellow cards cost Hibs dearly against Motherwell.
That was until he landed another booking just five minutes into his return from suspension in Sunday’s Edinburgh derby! The Aussie was called out by boss Gray for a lack of discipline after his lunge on Tony Watt earned a second yellow card and the first red of his career before his side imploded against Well earlier this month.
But having managed the last 85 minutes plus added time in the heat of battle against Hearts without getting in more bother the big Aussie insists the penny has dropped. Asked if he learned from the Motherwell moment of madness, the on-loan Sunderland midfielder said: “Well I thought I did up until the first five minutes against Hearts. How do I stop going into tackles?
“That’s what I’ve been trying to ask myself! It’s just particular actions and decision making which you have to get right when you are on a caution so you do have to be careful at times.
“It’s something that I’m trying to get better at. It’s not great getting cards, especially early on. I’m not going to comment on the refereeing but I think it’s something that I can learn from. You’ve just got to stay disciplined and controlled which I thought I did for the rest of the game.”
Gray had branded Triantis’ rash challenge for the second yellow against Motherwell, which saw Andy Halliday net a late winner just minutes after the Aussie was ordered off, as ‘unacceptable’. And the 22-year-old said: “Yeah, fair. Not so much criticism, just a learning point for myself being a young player. That red card can have an effect on the game and as you saw we conceded after that so I take full responsibility with the red card because it’s my actions.”
Rock bottom Hibs have picked up just one point from their last four games and while the derby draw ended a losing run, Triantis insists it still needs to be much better.
The pressure has piled on Gray, who was a coach in his first loan spell in Leith last season. And Triantis is desperate to deliver for the rookie boss, who has switched him from centre half to holding midfielder.
He said: “He has been really good to me, the gaffer was a big part to why I came back. I’m really enjoying being under him and I think the team is as well. I don’t think results are a reflection of the time it’s been so far under the gaffer and hopefully things can change soon.
“When he got in touch in the summer he delivered a clear message that he wanted me to play number six. I see myself as a midfielder now. I have big characteristics and attributes for a holding midfielder.”
A win over Ross County will see Hibs climb off the foot of the table no matter results elsewhere. And Triantis knows they need to tighten up late on in games if they’re to start climbing after throwing away five points in the final few minutes of the last two games.
He said: “When we do reviews we know that there are many positives to take from the games but at the end of the day football is about results and it’s always that last hurdle it seems that we’re falling short. We’re trying our best to fix that and hopefully that can be corrected against Ross County.
“Our mentality is you want to win these games. You can’t go into games wanting draws or looking for one point. We were disappointed not to come away with three points on Sunday.”