After 14 weeks without having tasted league defeat, it is perhaps expected that when one does come along it can hit harder than would normally be expected. And much as the football media in particular liked to talk up a league challenge from Easter Road this season, so from the same direction has come the fiercest condemnation that in some way the Hibernian season should be declared a failure on the basis of their singular defeat in over three months.

Disappointment is there of course, but much as those inside the club ignored the hype going on around them during the dizzy weeks of building a healthy points total towards the Christmas holiday, so they will do so through a slightly more ruffled approach to the New Year. What many are perhaps now accepting is that even the big joker that is Hibernian manager John Hughes was being deadly serious in his weekly reminders that his side are a work in progress - and in the early stages of building at that.

Hibernian will travel north to Perth on league duty for the first time in almost ten years tomorrow with the weight of expectation on their shoulders a great deal lighter than it had been. They face opponents whom they know will test their resolve to bounce back from Sunday's defeat, and few at Easter Road would have it any other way. One player who had to sit out the match on Saturday is certainly not looking to cash-in on the troubles of those team-mates who were in the side - Lewis Stevenson remaining true to the team spirit that has so far seen Hibernian turn in their best-ever start to an SPL football season.

The departure of Sol Bamba on international duty might be seen by the player as a possible opening of a door - but Lewis is taking nothing for granted, citing instead the other options his manager has: "I would hope that Ian Murray will be back for the game against St Johnstone, he missed the weekend because he had picked up a bug but we are hoping with Sol now away Ian will be fit again. Paul Hanlon is also an option in the middle of defence, and he has been there for the Scotland Under-21 side and also in our reserve games has showed up well in that position. He is big, strong and quick - his recovery is very good, so he provides other options to the side.

"For my part if I get the chance then I'll just need to be ready to take it, be it in midfield or defence. It can be a good thing to be able to play in a number of positions - although on the other hand you can be really good at one or just average at them all! But overall I think versatility is a good thing as when you are on the bench and you see a problem you are always thinking that you can fit in there, you have a chance to get on."

Lewis has had to be patient this season but he dismisses the argument that the demise of a reserve league in Scotland has in any way diminished his opportunities or retaining a good level of match fitness: "We played reserve games against Sunderland and Newcastle recently so while there is no reserve league you could argue that we are actually playing against better quality opposition in these games. These are also good games to play in, they certainly test your fitness - but at this time of year you don't play so many reserve games and that can start to go down a bit, making it important that you work harder in training.

"We have to get right back to work on Wednesday, losing the game at the weekend was disappointing of course but when you lose a game you just have to accept it and move on, what we don't want to happen is go on a run of losing games - that is when we would really be concerned. I don't see any reason why we can't get another winning run going into the New Year, we have defended well before Sunday and had a good long run. We still have the players who did that and so why not go on another winning run."