Shaun Maloney faces the challenge of lifting his players and instilling his tactical demands ahead of his first match as manager of Hibernian.
Maloney makes his managerial debut on Wednesday when Aberdeen visit Easter Road in the cinch Premiership.
The 38-year-old took charge on Monday and many of his players did not train after losing a close Premier Sports Cup final to Celtic in a 2-1 defeat 24 hours earlier.
Their Hampden disappointment came 10 days after the shock of losing the man who got them there, Jack Ross, with many of the players expressing guilt and major disappointment over his sacking.
Maloney admitted he was “very aware” of the players’ hurt on both counts.
“The cup final is very raw,” he said. “David Gray and Craig Samson did a fantastic job in organising the team. The fight they showed gave me even more inspiration.
“In terms of their feelings for the previous manager, these are absolutely normal. It can take time for players but it’s a normal human feeling when you have a connection with someone, so I have no problem with that.
“My job is obviously to try to get them in a really good place for the match on Wednesday.”
Maloney will look to make an immediate impact but knows his ideas might take some time to filter into performances.
“I think the style will come,” the former Belgium coach said. “The style is just something I see is the best way to win a game while giving the supporters something they can be proud of. How long that takes, I hope it’s as quick as possible.
“At the moment I am trying to give the players as much information and get them in a place where they can really look to enjoy the game on Wednesday.
“But we are going to have to fight. We are going to have to fight in and out of possession. Aberdeen are a good team so we have to go and compete and then we have to try to dominate.”
