The capital side suffered derby day defeat to Hearts on their last Premiership outing before the international break
Mark is Assistant Live Sports Editor for the Daily Record. He has worked for Reach since 2015. Mark has mainly covered football but also boxing, tennis, rugby, UFC and darts during his work for both regional and national titles.
(Image: SNS Group)
David Gray has thrown down the gauntlet. Now it’s time for the players to seize it and get this season really moving.
It’s been a weird start to the campaign, no doubt. But it’s time to put it all aside, reset and start charging forward again to keep momentum building at Easter Road.
It’s not easy to unpack the opening couple of months. The excitement of the European adventure took care of the first month and, without question, there were highs in there.
The away performances in particular, really stood out, and they came so close to reaching the group stages in Warsaw.
I suppose with the tough stretch of games, the juggling of resources and mental and physical ups and downs, you could maybe have expected a slight downturn after the first international break.
However, you cannot deny it was a sore period. Hibs didn’t win a game in five and there were hammer blows in there.
Naturally, the derby springs to mind and the manner of the defeat with the loss of a goal in injury time still stings.
Perhaps even more disappointing was the exit from the Premier Sports Cup to Rangers. They were in total turmoil when Gray’s boys went to Ibrox and, with Celtic struggling and Hearts already out of the competition, that was a huge chance of silverware.
It wasn’t just the defeat. It was a weak display and Hibs couldn’t complain about going out.
A point at Parkhead against the champions isn’t to be sniffed at but two other draws with Dundee United and Falkirk were chances missed – and the shipping five goals in those two outings was not clever.
Gray has laid it on the line and this third block of games before the final international break of the year feel like a pivotal time for the group.
Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not talking about the future of the manager or anything like that. As I said last week, that’s not even a discussion.
Gray is the man to take Hibs forward and a few frustrating results in recent months doesn’t change that fact. So when I say pivotal, I’m really talking about for the aspirations in the campaign to follow and where Hibs can get to.
Craig Halkett sparks wild scenes in the stands and on pitch wit Hearts pals after late Hibs winner
There’s a couple of games against Livingston in there, a trip to face St Mirren which as we all know, is no easy job. Hibs go to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen and they got a bit of a lift before the break by beating Dundee.
Rangers also travel to Easter Road during the stretch and that is a massive chance to get the big result to kick-start the term properly again.
Gray will chop it back to basics and, as boring as it may sound to fans, earning clean sheets again is going to be the No.1 objective.
The one at Celtic Park was impressive and it was so close to another at Tynecastle – but otherwise they’ve been ropey.
Gray isn’t going to stand for that and he’ll demand his team stay tight. Sure, the fans want to see swashbuckling football but there has to be solidity about the unit to give the boys at the other end of the park a chance to get going.
There is such an emphasis on Martin Boyle and Kieron Bowie and it’s tough to ask those lads to deliver game on game. They are going to need some help.
I said after the transfer window that missing out on Lyndon Dykes was a setback .
And there’s no second option to Bowie’s style as Steven Fletcher couldn’t be convinced to come out of retirement as a back-up.
Boyle is blistering at his best, no question. But it is going to need others to come good.
Hibs shelled out over £1million to land Thibault Klidje and you have to accept the kid is going to need some time to find his feet. He’s only come up with one goal so far.
On the plus side, it was against Livi in the cup, so a repeat of that against David Martindale’s team on Saturday won’t go amiss. Elie Youan is one who is capable of producing much more when he gets his opportunities either from the start or the bench.
There are so many games this season where draws could easily have been turned into wins with a bit more verve.
The boys in the middle of the park also have to step up. Jamie McGrath has got it in his locker, Josh Mulligan will be buzzing after a Scotland call. Rocky Bushiri and Grant Hanley can come up with strikes at set-plays but, whatever it takes, Hibs need to find a rhythm.
So far, it’s been a term of near misses, frustrations and slight disappointment without ever being poor or bad.
It just needs some small details to start going in Hibs’ direction. But this just feels a major part of the season to set the team up for that busy period going into Christmas and this is time for Gray and his team to start stepping on the gas and unleashing their potential.
Otherwise, a season which promised an awful lot could be in danger of sliding away into something distinctly average.