PRESUMABLY those of the opinion the pen is mightier than the sword have never tried to fend off tooled-up attackers armed with nothing more than a Biro.

The full power of the written word, however, was revealed on Saturday as Hibernian claimed their first league win in three months, a maiden league victory for manager Pat Fenlon.

Relations in recent times between some frustrated Hibs supporters and their faltering heroes have been strained, to say the least; the players feeling they have not received full backing from the stands, the punters enraged by what they perceive as their team toiling and not putting in sufficient effort.

Things reached a peak in the Scottish Cup tie against Cowdenbeath earlier this month, when Leigh Griffiths scored, then made an offensive gesture in the direction of his own supporters. That did not go down well.

Electing to take matters into their own hands, members of the supporters' trust penned a letter to the team offering a ceasefire. They would try to pull the rank and file into line, while continuing to offer boisterous backing, if the players treated them with greater respect.

It all came together perfectly at East End Park as Hibs dug deep to record a victory that eases their relegation worries, roared on by such a large travelling support that Dunfermline had to open the hitherto mothballed North Stand to accommodate them all.

Lewis Stevenson, the Hibs midfielder, explained all.

"We all got letters, I think it was from a supporters' trust, and we felt we had to get the fans more involved," he said. "We just got told that they'd try to sort out the boo boys if we showed total commitment and respected the fans, which obviously we do. Some of the supporters maybe felt a bit distant. There wasn't a divide, but we've got to prove to them that it means so much to us too.

"We've put them through a lot this season and they've stuck by us. They've given us some stick, but if I was up there [in the stand] I'd be giving us stick as well. But their support [on Saturday] was fantastic. They gave us a great ovation at the start and when the goals went in.

"It all seemed more positive. I'm not just saying it, but it does help a lot when they are giving you ovations like that. Hopefully, they could see we gave them 100%."

The same could be said for the Dunfermline players and it led to a frenetic, high-paced contest, played almost like a cup tie. Both camps had played down talk of this being a relegation contest but given their location at the foot of the table, this was clearly a significant meeting.

With both sides deploying porous defences, that Hibs triumphed was down largely to their superior finishing, Griffiths scoring either side of a fine Garry O'Connor goal.

The victory leaves them four points clear of their vanquished rivals, easing the prospect of Hibs going down at the end of the season.

"Relegation is unthinkable," added Stevenson. "I've never been in this position before, but we just need to get through this sticky patch.

"Hibs are a big club and shouldn't be getting relegated. But you can't really say that as it's happened to big clubs in the past. Hopefully, this is a corner turned. It's two wins and we can go into the St Johnstone game next week with more confidence."

Dunfermline had nothing to show for a performance that was bright and busy but again undone by defensive frailties.

They scored two well-taken goals by Andy Kirk and Liam Buchanan, but that was not enough to help them to a first home win of the season.

They will have another chance on Wednesday, when Inverness Caledonian Thistle travel to East End Park for their William Hill Scottish Cup replay.

"We've got to keep plodding on," said Buchanan. "All we can do is keep fighting and scrapping."