Hibernian returned from the international break with an insipid 3-1 home defeat to Motherwell at Easter Road on Saturday in a game which promised so much but delivered so little.
With a stop-start league season following the World Cup, the weekend was only the fourth Saturday afternoon home fixture of 2023 for the club and supporters were optimistic heading for the pre-split run in with strong ticket sales leading into the game.
On the pitch we offered very little. Five defenders at home to a side we’d beaten twice already this season with no width and no entertainment made for a disappointing return to Easter Road after more than three weeks away.
With three games to go before the split the club face a huge period in the season where anything less than a place in the top six will surely be faced with a backlash from supporters.
Hibernian are unequivocally a top six football club in Scotland. In size, fanbase, history, turnover, wage budget – but how many times can you afford to miss out on the top six before that statement becomes harder to believe? If results don’t go our way in the next three weeks, we’ll be staring at a third bottom six finish in four years.
While it’s right to point out that one of those seasons was curtailed due to Covid, the direction of travel hasn’t been good enough in the last two years.
Shaun Maloney was removed from his post before the end of last season in order to allow the new manager to be given a full pre-season. If nearly 20 new players, two cup exits and two 3-0 defeats to Hearts are followed by a place in the bottom six it’s impossible to argue that the 2022/23 season has been anything but a complete failure.
At a time when the top five teams out of 12 could gain access to Europe it would be inexcusable for a club of our size to miss out on qualification for the second year in a row.
With eight games remaining Hibs have scored eight more goals than they did during the 2021/22 season, but they’ve also conceded seven more at the other end already despite signing an international goalkeeper and six defenders.
We’ve lost more matches than we’ve won and Saturday’s defeat to Motherwell means everyone else in the league has beaten us at least once this season.
While the stats paint a relatively bleak picture, Lee Johnson and his squad are only five points off third place and two wins from our last three games – against Dundee United at Tannadice, Hearts at Easter Road and St Johnstone in Perth – should secure a place in the top half of the league and will turn attentions to a bid for European football.
One of the most frustrating aspects to Saturday’s defeat was the feeling of missed opportunity as Hearts lost on the road again. Aberdeen have found some form under Barry Robson and look set to overtake the Jambos into third place if form continues the way it’s going while we lost ground again.
Recent years have promised new eras and the prospect of success on the pitch but a series of missed opportunities have hindered any progress and left fans with a feeling of what might have been.
We make the trip to Dundee next weekend to take on a United side who have only won one league game in 2023. On the face of it it’s a match we need to win if we want to put ourselves back in the mix for a top four finish but the 2-2 draw at Easter Road earlier in the season shows it won’t be an easy task to pick up three points.
Lee Johnson was criticised at the weekend for sticking with a back five and by the time he changed it from the stands it was too late.
Speaking after the game Johnson said the team had let the fans down and admitted the match was a ‘difficult watch’, while hoping the string of defeats was a bad run which will be stopped at Tannadice this weekend.
With Kevin Nisbet 90 minutes closer to match fitness and Elie Youan back from suspension, the manager will have more flexibility in his approach on Sunday, but things will need to be far better than they were on Saturday if supporters are going to be entertained and satisfied with the result over Easter weekend.
The following week Hearts visit Easter Road in the fourth Edinburgh derby meeting of the campaign. With two 3-0 defeats at home already this season little needs to be said about the importance of that one both in the context of the league table and for the club as a whole.
Our final match before the split is a trip to McDairmid Park to take on St Johnstone. Josh Campbell’s late winner was the difference in Perth on the opening day of the season and Hibs will know exactly what’s required of them by the time that fixture rolls around on 22nd April.
With the league as tight as it is between third and seventh, the club’s first job is to secure a place in the top six. If we can do that with a bit of conviction, while teams around us continue to drop points, we could set ourselves up for an exciting race for European football.
Failure to tie up a place in the top half would leave things sitting very differently heading into the summer, when a new Director of Football is expected to be in post to oversee the football department.
As season ticket renewal time continues to trudge on, the club will be desperate to end the campaign on a positive note to ensure the stands are as full as possible during 2023/24.
European football and finishing above Hearts would do ticket sales no harm – but there’s plenty of work to be done first.
The East Stand 
100% agree. The frustration is that Mgt & players are making life more difficult than it needs to be. Attitude was piss poor from minute one.
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