It was another high-scoring affair when Killie travelled to Edinburgh back in September but again the capital club emerged with the win after Florian Kamberi’s late penalty secured a 3-2 win.

But Clarke hopes a sprinkling of festive luck can see his side kick-off another successful December for his side as he looks to repeat last year’s six-game unbeaten streak in the build up to the Hogmanay celebrations.

He said: “Hibs are good opposition. I know they are not in the best run right now but they are always a dangerous team, always play an open game, always look to be attacking.

“We’ve had some great games against them but unfortunately we haven’t come out on the winning side yet in my time here.

“How are we looking to put that right this time? By beating them!

“It’s an important time of year. December is a big month – it was a good month for us last year and if we can replicate that it would be great.

“The more players we can keep fit and available the better. Three games in a week is always tough but we think we’ve got the squad to manage that.”

While Killie have lost just once in their last five fixtures, Lennon’s team have now run up six weeks without a victory since their 6-0 crushing of Hamilton.

But Clarke said: “I don’t think it’s a sticky spell, I think they’ve just been a little bit unfortunate recently. Neil’s done a great job at Hibs after bringing them up from the Championship.

“They were flying last year and had a great season. Everyone expected them to be even better than last year but it’s not always as easy as that in football.

“You have to adjust your squad. They have lost two or three key players in the summer and sometimes it takes a little bit of time for everything to gel when you bring in new guys to replace them.”

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