"I'm angry. We gave up the opportunity to get to a final far too meekly."

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross was hurt. His side had just been beaten in the Scottish League Cup semi-final having lost to local rivals Hearts in the last four of the Scottish Cup a few months prior.

Naturally, questions were being asked. Do Hibs have a mentality issue? Is Ross the right man for the job?

However, in less than two weeks, the Easter Road side may well have finished the season in third place, with a Scottish Cup to their name and Europa League football to look forward to next season.

The margins are fine though. Aberdeen could still pip them to third and St Johnstone might ruin their day at Hampden once again after their League Cup semi-final win over the Edinburgh side.

But Hibs have a chance to seal one of the most successful seasons in the club's history.
How did we get here?

Among the hysteria of two semi-final defeats, it is worth remembering that Hibs went about their business effectively in the opening weeks of the term. By mid-December, they had only lost three times in the league.

Then came the slump. It was short, but it was significant.

They lost five of seven, failing to score in each loss. At the end of that period, they had fallen three points behind Aberdeen having playing a game more and were only five ahead of Livingston, who had a game in hand.

But then came the resurgence. Since Hampden defeat by St Johnstone, Hibs have played 16 matches, won 10, drawn once and two of their five defeats came against Rangers.

Central to that has been the attacking trident of Martin Boyle, Kevin Nisbet and Christian Doidge. All three have reached double figures for the season, with Doidge scoring in every round of the Scottish Cup thus far.

When the three all play 90 minutes, they average a goal a game. Ross deserves credit for not only fitting them into the same team but getting the best out of them.

The astute signing of Jackson Irvine also has been pivotal. The Australia midfielder was signed on a free in the middle of the Easter Road club's slump and, once he found his feet, he became one of the first names on the team sheet.

Ross' has played a key role too in the development of teenage left-back Josh Doig, who has just been named as the Premiership's Young Player of the Year.

While Hibs have struggled for clean sheets since their upturn in form, they have only lost a lead once since that disappointing day at Hampden - and they showed their resolve by beating Motherwell on penalties on that occasion in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
The fan's view

Gavin Wilson from Hibs Talk Podcast

I rate Ross very highly. As a Hibs fan, you're never going to win the cup every year, but there has to be a bit of excitement. We always want exciting, attacking football. In the first few months of the season, that wasn't there and there was a bit of scepticism about whether that would come.

He's a manager that instils a winning mentality no matter what. As much as I can fantasise about free-flowing attacking football, I think that's the key thing.

Opinions were vary varied after the semi-final defeats. I was speaking to fans who thought he was a serial loser and there were fans who were very positive and a lot more patient. I was more in the middle.

If he had lost against Dundee United, a lot of those fans would have crawled back out of the woodwork.

It was a massive win for him. He's answered his critics and then some.
'Hibs putting together significant season' - analysis

BBC Sport Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English

I suspect Hibs fed off the disappointment of the previous semi-finals and learned their lessons from that. Their attitude from the start against United was a lot better than it was in those matches.

They looked like they had something about them. I was struck by the work rate and the energy in the team.

Hibs are putting together a really significant season here. If they finish third in the league, that's one spot above expectation and budget and they can win the cup - that's a serious season.