The Hibees head to Fir Park tomorrow to take on Motherwell in a huge game for both teams. The trip to Lanarkshire comes on the back of the worst possible start to 2023 for Hibs, with a 3-0 defeat in the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle kicking off the month in disappointing style.
Lee Johnson remains in charge of the side – for now at least – with supporters widely of the understanding that if things don’t go to plan over the next three games we could be on the lookout for a fourth manager in just over a year.
With just two wins in our last 11 league matches Hibs are in dire need of three points. Motherwell have only picked up one victory at home in the league this season and are on the hunt for a change of fortunes themselves.
Sky Sports have picked a cracker for live coverage tomorrow afternoon, haven’t they?
With three goals conceded in the derby Hibs had the joint-worst defence in the league going in to the weekend. The stat combined with the side’s inability to regularly score goals paints the picture of an increasingly poor season so far.
Lee Johnson didn’t hold back in his post-match comments on Tuesday, where he said he’d rather get rid of 10 of the current first team squad if it meant he could replace them with one top signing.
The manager also expressed his frustrations at the lack of quality in front of goal and suggested a lack of confidence in the derby meant players passing backwards instead of putting crosses into the box, saying these things haven’t been coached but instead come as a result of individual fears.
With a week of the January transfer window behind us already it’s been surprising to see so little progress made – in or out – after so many reminders that the current first team squad is not where it needs to be.
While Johnson has said on a number of occasions that he’d like to trim the squad, with many of the players on the periphery on significant contracts the reality may be harder to deliver than the theory.
The break-clause in Mo Bojang’s loan from Rainbow FC was activated earlier this week and his departure marks the second first-team exit of the window, with Steven Bradley signing for Livingston after his return from Dundalk.
Development squad player Joao Balde also moved to Arbroath on a permanent basis in recent days after spending the first half of the season on loan at East Fife.
Jake Doyle-Hayes has been linked with a move away and it seems to be a matter of time before Ryan Porteous leaves the club for pastures new, but neither of these names are the first ones which spring to mind when Johnson suggests he’d be happy to get rid of 10.
If we are waiting for players to be offloaded before any new signings are made we could be leaving ourselves exposed towards the end of the window.
There are suggestions that the club could be considering a return to a Director of Football model, but with question marks over the manager and the transfer window already in full swing the timing of any changes would have to be carefully considered.
It’s reasonable to suggest any announcements will not be made until after 31st January, which means responsibility for improvements this season lie at the door of the current coaching staff and recruitment team.
In the meantime, the onus has to be on getting a reasonable tune out of the current squad, which has a number of capable players at the forefront of it who are not performing to the levels they are able.
Kevin Nisbet completed his first 90 minutes since his return from injury at Tynecastle, and with the news that Mykola Kukharevych could be sidelined for the next few games there will be a weight on Scotland international’s shoulders to lead the line.
At the same time players like Aiden McGeady, Harry McKirdy and Elie Youan simply have to start delivering if we are going to snap out of the current cycle of bad form.
Ryan Porteous will return to the starting XI tomorrow but with his departure imminent it’s hugely important we start to make appropriate moves in the transfer window to arrest the club’s run of results.
Whether it’s a back three or four at Fir Park, Hibs will need to be far stronger in defence if we are going to start moving in the right direction in the league table.
Saturday’s results were a mixed bag for Hibs with St Mirren taking a point at home to Hearts, Aberdeen beating St Johnstone 2-0 at Pittodrie, Celtic 2-0 victors over Kilmarnock in Glasgow and Ross County falling to a 2-0 defeat by Livingston in the Highlands.
We started the day in 8th position and ended it the same. Even with a win tomorrow afternoon Hibs will remain in the bottom six, but it’s absolutely vital we start to get the right results.
Whether it’s a scrappy 1-0 win or a convincing victory tomorrow won’t matter – we simply have to start winning football matches more consistently to ensure we are looking upwards instead of down.
The East Stand 