JOHN Rankin admitted yesterday that the competitive nature of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League has brought the best out of him and his Hibernian team-mates as they work hard to extinguish the fears of those Easter Road fans who had expressed disquiet over their worrying pre-season form.

The Edinburgh side may have emerged from this hugely entertaining game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle with only one point but their second-half performance was as pulsating as it was imaginative and direct as Colin Nish cancelled out a Don Cowie first-half strike with an opportunist goal within half a minute of the restart.

Nish, a tormenter of the Caley Thistle defence, was well served by Dean Shiels and Rankin in the Hibs midfield and, in the end, should have hit the home net many more times than they did, though the big striker's looping header in the second half did hit the woodwork.

For 24-year-old Rankin, it was an opportunity to display the talents Caley lost when they transferred him to the capital club in January for £110,000 and he relished every minute of it, working diligently to try and alter the statistic that Hibs had never won at the Caledonian Stadium.

"You could go through a number of our players who had chances," he said, "but that's something we can work on in the coming days.

"One day we will take all our chances and I don't know how many goals we will score if we do.

"We can see that Colin is forming a really good partnership up front with Fletch and if everyone can chip in as well, it will take the pressure off Nishy. He's scored three so far and, apart from scoring against Inverness, he was unfortunate in that he had a header hit a post.

"I think the competitive edge has maybe now kicked in after our disappointing pre-season games.

"It is no longer about getting our fitness levels up but about going out and getting three points every time we play. It changes your mentality and your approach."

Cowie pointed to Nish's equaliser as a goal from which Caley Thistle could not recover.

"We were bitterly dis-appointed to come out at half-time and lose a quick goal," he said.

"It knocked the stuffing out of us and we never really recovered. So, to get a draw was a good result for us.

"It was disappointing that we never reacted to their goal, but we got a point and we take that as a positive."

Cowie had special praise for his friend Rankin, with whom he played at Ross County in Division Two, produced such a powerful performance and was pleased to witness his development.

"John took a knock when he was released by Manchester United," he added, "but he has done well, picking himself up and building his career again through Ross County, Caley and now Hibs.

"It's a positive for other players. No matter what someone thinks of you, there is always someone else who rates you and he has taken advantage of that."