SHAUN MALONEY, the Hibs manager, admitted that he had never felt as hurt after a derby defeat as he did on Saturday night. 

And while it was the same outcome as last weekend for Hibs on Saturday following their Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts but the manner of the performance was beyond reproach. Where they had been meek at Tynecastle on league duty a week earlier, the Hampden performance had significantly more bite about it.

There was an argument that there might have been too much; Joe Newell’s second-half dismissal meant they played for 32 minutes with a numerical disadvantage while Josh Campbell might also have gone. But what was immediate to draw from the performance was that had they shown the same intensity after going two goals down to two outstanding strikes from Ellis Simms and Stephen Kingsley their season might not look quite as limp as it does.

Chris Cadden’s goal immediately after Hearts had gone 2-0 up drew movement in the stands as scores of supporters who had already been heading for the exists chose to retake their seats. It was a wise move given the spirit with which their side admirably kept at it.

Liam Boyce squandered a chance to put the game beyond them on the cusp of the interval when he sent an effort narrowly wide of the post but such was Hibs’ second-half display that Hearts were wasting minutes and frustrating their Easter Road counterparts long before the 90 minute mark was in sight.

Ryan Porteous’ header which Craig Gordon impressively repelled was their best chance of the period but the challenge now will be to mine the positives from the performance as Shaun Maloney looks to rebuild for next season.

It has been a challenging start for the former Scotland internationalist at Hibs but it would be harsh to judge him so early in in his tenure and without a transfer window in which to exact changes of his own.

The loss of Martin Boyle was always going to significantly weaken Hibs and with Kevin Nisbet also injured, there has been a palpable lack of bite in the final third.

“I think everybody could see that we left it all out there, even when we went down to ten men we dug in,” reflected goalscorer Cadden after the game.  “I knew we weren't going to cave [at 2-0 down]. They were two great finishes but when I looked about after the second, I knew the boys still wanted it, I knew they were still hungry.

“Once we got back into the game I felt there was only one team that would go on to win it. If we had got that second goal, I think we would have gone on to win it.

“The gaffer has been unbelievable since he came in and everyone ran themselves into the ground, everyone's putting their body on the line and doing everything they can.

It wasn't our day today but we can hold ourselves up high.

“We did get beaten but there are ways of losing games - last week wasn't one of them, but if you leave everything out there, while it's not acceptable to get beaten, the absolute minimum has to be giving everything you've got. That's got to be the very least from this club. 

“The gaffer wants us to play a certain way and ever since he walked into the building everyone has bought into what he wants them to do. He's been great and I can't speak highly enough of h

Maloney himself was calm in the aftermath of the game despite the obvious frustration at the result. Consideration that players now might be playing for their futures at the club was met by cautionary response as he picked his words carefully. What was unambiguous was his hurt at the defeat. 

“It’s a big statement,” he said. “It’s maybe a little bit raw to speak like that [that players are playing for their Hibs futures]. What I saw today showed me absolutely everything about every player who stepped on the pitch. 

“They have to fight and have a desire to win and not get beat in each of the next five games and next season. 

“We have to remember how we feel now and make sure we don’t feel like this again next season. I asked the players to play on an edge. When we went down to 10 men, we were still the more dominant team. 

“I’ve never felt like this after a defeat in a derby. We had the support clapping the players off. It’s my job to make sure that there are more of these performances. 

“I really need every player and every staff member in every department to remember the hurt that we feel now. That has to drive the work that we do for next season. The hurt we have now has to drive what we are doing to make sure we have got a very different and stronger team next year.”