Neil Lennon insists Hibs will be judged on games against opponents in their next run of matches following a 2-1 loss to Celtic.

The former Hibees and Hoops boss was back at Easter Road as a pundit for Sky Sports on Sunday, during manager Marink Reedijk’s third game in charge. Like against Dundee United and Falkirk, three points were lost, but elements of the performance were improved against the Premiership champions.

Bottom of the table, Hibs travel to St Mirren on Wednesday, before their huge Premier Sports Cup semi-final against rivals Hearts. Aberdeen at Pittodrie then precedes the international break and Lennon, who was impressed by central defender Marko Ivezic’s performance against Celtic, says those games are where Hibs can be judged. He also backed Reedijk’s call to throw centre-back Grant Hanley up front in search of a leveller versus the league leaders.

Lennon said: “You are playing Celtic so it isn’t going to be a guaranteed win. I saw more in the second half from Hibs when they had a good spell of 10-15 minutes after half-time but I didn’t see any clear cut chances or excitement. The most excitement fans did see was when Grant Hanley came on but I understand it.

“Sometimes I have seen managers do that before, the Hail Mary at the end, trying to cause a bit of disruption in the Celtic box. I don’t know how much he is going to take from the game. In terms of quality, there wasn’t much there, from a Hibs point of view. In defence they were ok and I thought Marko Ivezic was very good.

“I thought they lacked creativity and punch in midfield. They got the ball into some decent positions in wide areas and didn’t come up with any genuine quality. You are not going to get judged on playing Celtic. They have a couple of big games coming up now, St Mirren, Hearts, Aberdeen away. They are the ones that you’ll really find out about them.”

Former Hibs and Celtic winger Aiden McGeady was also on the punditry panel, where pre-match, insisted the Easter Road squad quality should see them nowhere near the Premiership’s dreaded 12th spot. He said: “It is really difficult but Hibs are bottom of the league for a reason.

“They have already got one manager the sack and I know it is not all to do with the players. But the players need to find consistency. They need to get back to winning ways as this club is too big to be sitting at the bottom of the league. You look at the squads throughout the league, Hibs is one of the strongest. I do think recruitment plays a big part.”