Hibernian head coach Neil Lennon admits he is concerned his team will be “under-cooked” for Wednesday’s Edinburgh derby.
Hibs have only had two games in the 32 days before their trip to Tynecastle to face Ladbrokes Premiership leaders Hearts, who have had four matches in that period.
An international break and the Betfred Cup semi-finals have hindered Hibernian’s rhythm and Lennon admits that is a worry.
“My main concern is that we are under-cooked,” he said. “I know it sounds a bit rich coming from a manager about a lack of football, but this is only our second game since October 5.
“So the only thing that worries me is rigor mortis setting into the squad.
“It’s ridiculous, we had one game against Hamilton, a two-week break, which is not ideal because you are playing well, and then you go to Celtic Park and have another 10-day break. Whereas other teams have played three or four games in the month.
“It’s a balance of getting the training right and the freshness and trying to keep them up to match-fitness levels, which is very difficult to do.
“And then in December it’s all concertinaed into eight games in four weeks, which is just absolutely criminal.
“Another thing is this is our fourth away game in five games. I have never come across that before.
“It’s difficult but we will adapt. But it needs looking at, it’s just not right. As a manager it’s almost impossible to prepare for anything like that.”
While Hibs have had to rest, Hearts have been playing games but lost striker Steven Naismith to a knee injury on top of other key players.
Lennon said: “He’s a quality player who has had a fantastic start to the season and been pivotal in all the good things Hearts have done. They have a big squad though.
“They have had horrendous injuries to key players, as we all do time from time, but they have a lot of players and strength in depth.
“I’d much rather he was playing, and if I was playing I would much rather he was playing as well.
“We’ve had a catalogue of injuries since the start of the season – (Darren) McGregor has been out a long time, (Paul) Hanlon has been out, David Gray has been out sporadically, (Jamie) Maclaren, our leading goalscorer, has been out the majority of the season.
“It happens. It’s the process of having a squad. You just have to deal with it as best you can and try not to look for excuses.”
