Hibs are back from the international break with a palpable thud as Dundee United head to Easter Road this afternoon in a huge Premiership fixture which could go a long way to cementing both sides’ fates in the fight for a place in the top six.
Next weekend we head to Tynecastle in the final game before the split with the small matter of a Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts in Glasgow just a week later. As Shaun Maloney surpassed 100 days in charge of the club this week, his biggest challenges to date are staring him in the face.
It is without a doubt the most important fortnight of the season and it’s one which could make or break the campaign in the minds of many supporters.
With the League Cup coming to a conclusion in December it feels like a lifetime ago that Martin Boyle fired a hattrick to set up a final meeting with Celtic. Since then, we have a new manager and a handful of new players – some of whom have come into the team and been forced back out again through injury while Harry Clarke is still to make an appearance following nearly three months on the side lines.
After a 2-1 win at Fir Park things were looking up for Hibs who had secured a third Hampden appearance of the season to set up the Easter weekend meeting with Hearts, but a disappointing performance and result in Aberdeen before the international break brought things back down a notch or two.
Those two results were symptomatic of the season so far. The squad have threatened to look like a coherent, well managed side in fits and starts without the ability to string together a run of positive results.
In isolation there have been some good showings throughout the campaign, the 3-0 semi-final victory over Rangers being the highlight so far, but a failure to nail down any consistency has led to the club missing numerous opportunities to pull away in fourth place.
Home defeats to Livingston and St Mirren combined with draws against Dundee and St Johnstone since the turn of the year have left fans frustrated while no one around us has taken the bull by the horns.
As a result, we find ourselves involved in a seven-way battle for three places in the top six with just two difficult games to go.
Without a win in ten games, Aberdeen just had to face a lacklustre Hibs side to give themselves a chance of a place in the top six – a chance which looked long gone just a couple of games ago, and even less likely as Calvin Ramsey fired into his own net to put the Hibees 1-0 up in the first half.
With Paul Hanlon and Paul McGinn missing we have been lacking leadership on the pitch, with much of the responsibility left to Lewis Stevenson who – to his credit – has been one of our best performers this season in a number of positions.
Ryan Porteous’ red card at Pittodrie means he’ll be missing for the next four league games at a crucial point in the season. While he is eligible to feature against Hearts at Hampden, he won’t have played a competitive match for almost a month.
A positive from the international break has been the inclusion of Harry Clarke in first team training. With Porteous suspended and Paul Hanlon also recently back from injury, Clarke’s return to fitness has come at a good time – fingers crossed he is fit enough to feature at the weekend with an eye on the derby double-header to come.
While supporters can understand Shaun Maloney’s squad is still very much a work in progress, there is huge room for improvement with the players he currently has at his disposal despite the horrible injury situation which has often been under-reported at Easter Road this season.
At Pittodrie we lacked a serious goal threat and gave up opportunities too easily to a side low on confidence and 10th in the league. We’ll need to be much better to get back to winning ways against Dundee United on Saturday in what has now become one of the biggest games of the season.
After 31 league games we have won 9, drawn 10 and lost 12. In an average season that would be far from good enough to keep you in the race for the top six and Europe but somehow we are still in the mix with seven league games to go.
It’s been a hugely forgettable season in many ways, despite the run to the League Cup final. If we drop into the bottom six and lose the Scottish Cup semi-final it’ll be difficult to convince anyone who’s followed Hibs this season that it’s a season worth remembering.
Shaun Maloney speaks very well on football matters, he’s clearly got an idea of where he wants to take the club and what he’s looking to do with the squad. A few minutes in his company makes it easy to get excited by what he says but at the moment we’re still trying to move towards his ideal playing style and the results that will hopefully come as a consequence.
At this stage of the season all that matters is results.
As the 2022/23 season ticket campaign is launched, the next two weeks really are so important. Push into the top six and make it to the cup final and the whole narrative of the season will be flipped on its head with supporters looking ahead to the new season with positivity.
We’ve been unable to name a settled side for much of the season due to injuries and suspension which, combined with the managerial change halfway through the season can be blamed for the inconsistent results in 2021/22.
If we are to achieve anything of note in the next seven weeks we’ll need to keep as many players available for selection as possible.
The league derby at Tynecastle will, as they say, take care of itself. We will need to be up for it and comply with all of the other usual cliches but there will be a lot less pressure on the first Hearts game if we can secure three points at Easter Road tomorrow.
Securing a place in the top six with a couple of positive performances would do the players and fans a huge amount of good heading into the Scottish Cup semi-final, the third of three massive games in the next 14 days.
It starts with league business against fourth placed Dundee United at 3pm, with a win enough to see us leapfrog the Arabs ahead of next weekend’s Edinburgh derby.
Glory glory to the Hibees.
The East Stand 