With Shaun Maloney dismissed on Tuesday morning and the club resigned to a bottom six finish, the next five games feel to many like an unwelcome barrier to forgetting all about the 2021/22 season and moving on.
David Gray and Eddie May will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season with the club aiming to appoint a new manager before the first team return for pre-season training in mid-June.
Our post-split schedule kicks off with a trip to St Mirren tomorrow afternoon, with Paisley the place to be after sacking managers in recent years. What then can we hope to see for the next four weeks?
Win Some Games
Our league form since the winter break has been abysmal. It’s ultimately what led to Shaun Maloney losing his job and it sees us in the bottom six and missing out on Europe in a season where a fifth-place finish will be enough to qualify.
Our sole Premiership win in 2022 came at home to Ross County back in February, where two goals from Jake Doyle Hayes were enough to pick up our only three points of the year so far.
Fans will be looking to see the side pick up some points against teams who are currently all below us in the league. With fan empathy already clear to see this season it’s important David Gray’s team go some way to reengaging the fanbase as we look ahead to 2022/23 and give us some hope – any hope – that there are better things to come.
Improving in Front of Goal
With 31 league goals this season so far, Hibernian are joint 8th highest scorers in the league. Since the winter break we have scored just eight times in 12 games. The club’s highest, fit goal scorer is Chris Cadden with three goals all season.
In short, we’re in a bit of trouble in front of goal.
Martin Boyle’s departure combined with the injury to Kevin Nisbet has left us desperately lacking in forward areas. Elias Melkersen has been in and out of the team but at only 19-years-old it’s difficult to rely on him to lead the line while Christian Doidge has had a season to forget thanks to injury worries which have left him off the pace.
January arrivals Chris Mueller and Demetri Mitchell haven’t had the impact we hoped they would but Mitchell’s return to training gives a little bit of hope that he’ll be available for selection before the end of the season.
It’ll be interesting to see how David Gray lines up for his five games in charge. A criticism of Maloney was his insistence on playing 3-4-3 at times when we didn’t have the players to suit the system – Gray might look to change things up with a bit-part squad at his disposal.
Despite never looking threatening, James Scott’s surprise inclusion at Hampden last week showed a little bit of what he’s capable of doing as a number 9 and Ewan Henderson made an impact in a more advanced position.
If we’ve got any chance of picking up some points in the next few weeks we’ll need to hope Melkersen, Henderson and Mueller start to click, with Harry Clarke and Chris Cadden important options from wide areas.
Playing for 2022/23
With a new manager set to come in over the next few weeks, players should be playing for their lives in the remaining five games.
It’s likely we’ll see some changes over the summer and rather than coasting through to the end of the season, fans will expect to see players already trying to make amends for performances in recent weeks with an eye on their place in the team next year.
The club has decisions to make on Rocky Bushiri and Sylvester Jasper while Paul McGinn, Drey Wright and Scott Allan are out of contract in the summer.
With little to fight for in the league, the side will largely be playing for pride between now and 15th May.
Give Youngsters a Chance
Realistically one win should see the club safe from the threat of a relegation play-off, which might open the door to blooding some of the younger players either recruited for the new development team or currently flying high in the U18s.
Runar Hague has already made his first team debut, coming on as a late sub in the 0-0 draw at Dens Park earlier in the season while defender Allain Delferriere has been a regular unused substitute since his arrival in January.
Josh O’Connor, Oscar Macintyre and Ethan Laidlaw have all featured in matchday squads this season and will be well known by Eddie May – once safety is secured we might see some of these names involved before the season ends.
Scott Allan’s Farewell
Scott Allan has been a fans’ favourite at Easter Road in three spells at the club. His involvement has been limited this season but despite this he still earns the biggest cheer in the ground when he makes a rare appearance off the bench.
With his contact set to expire in the summer and no murmurs of renewal discussions it seems very likely that this season will be his last in green and white.
A man who has been involved in some of the best moments at the club in recent years, Scott Allan will be remembered fondly by everyone who watched him play in the middle of the pitch.
McGinn, McGeouch and Allan were arguably the best midfield trios we’ve had at the club for years and just reading those three names alongside each other brings back lots of happy memories.
With an ability on the ball unmatched by anyone at the club, Allan’s fitness has appeared to be the only thing letting him down since his spell on the side lines with illness. The fact he made it back into the squad at all is to be commended and he’s had one or two trademark moments this season, too.
Hopefully we’ll all get the chance to see one more inch-perfect Scott Allan assist in the remaining five games. If the next few weeks are his last at the club I’m sure he will be given the send-off he deserves.
While the season has undoubtedly been a huge disappointment, and while these next five games feel like a damp squib, there are still some things to look out for if you’re heading along the M8 tomorrow afternoon or if you’re planning to attend either of our two remaining home games.
On the bright side, this forgettable season is nearly behind us and we can start to naively look forward to next year in just a few short weeks.
Glory glory to the Hibees.
The East Stand 