Hibs eyeing new players - but there are more important ones closer to home

The current squad have proved themselves in the first half of the season, and, having edged ahead of Aberdeen last weekend, they could split Rangers and Celtic by moving into second spot should they defeat Hamilton this afternoon, while Tuesday night’s trip to Alloa offers the them the opportunity to book a place in the Betfred Cup semi-finals.

One of the most dangerous away sides in the top tier, that favourable form will have attracted attention.

Maja and Morgan

“That’s always the downside of having a team that is performing consistently well,” said Ross. “I've had teams where we have been doing OK and then I have had different experiences of holding on to my star players like Lewis Morgan to losing my top scorer like Josh Maja.

“Through experience I've learned not to overthink it and have a contingency in place. The one thing I've always tried to do is try to find out as early as possible if I’m going to lose a player and again I've had different experiences of that in how quickly you get told.

“For us, at the moment, I'm confident we won't lose anybody, but that can change quickly. Unless you are at the very very top, you are going to lose players.”

While money would need to be paid to lure away his stars in the upcoming window, there is scope for rivals to slip in and agree pre-contract deals with those whose current deals expire in the summer and the prospect of losing the likes of Ofir Marciano, Joe Newell or Lewis Stevenson, especially with no recompense, does not sit well with the Easter Road gaffer.

Which is why he considers it vital that they find a way to extend their stay.

Building stability

“There is a much quicker change in management teams and squads nowadays and there has just become a fever around signing players continuously and overlooking those who have done a very good job for you and keeping them at the club.

“I'm trying to bring a bit of stability to the squad so we don't have a big turnover of players in each window and to do that you need to secure your good players as well.

“We're fortunate that we have a relatively small number out of contract, but those three, when you look at their performances over the weekend against Motherwell, they are all contributing a lot to us having a good season. So, for now, that's as big a priority for us as recruiting any new players.”

The fact that he is happy with the squad and the way they have been performing makes that task easier to focus on, as he is not chasing saviours in the same way as he was a year ago.

Window shopping

“When I compare it to last January's window, we weren't in a brilliant place so we needed fresh players in and those players who came in needed to come right into the team. The likes of Greg Docherty, Marc McNulty, Paul McGinn etc, whereas this year even bringing someone in, they are going to have to be really good to get the chance to play because we are playing really well.”

After a minor wobble in form, the fact they recorded a clean sheet and netted three goals last weekend, against the team looking to close in on them in the league suggests that they have regained their equilibrium just in time to hurtle into a congested run of fixtures in buoyant mood.

Facing 11 games between now and the end of January, the festive period always goes a long way to deciding how a season pans out. And, while there is the scope to recruit, Ross, who has spoken often of the leanness of his squad, knows he will need good fortune as well as high standards to emerge from this run of games with ambitions intact.

“We are going to need a bit of luck to avoid too many injuries and, at the same time, suspensions.”

Suspensions and injuries

Paul McGinn and Paul Hanlon are both close to crossing that threshold, while Jamie Murphy is the latest player on the injury list, having tweaked his hamstring last weekend.

He joins Alex Gogic and Sean Mackie on the sidelines for the trip to Hamilton, but Kyle Magennis is available again.

“We've tried to balance the squad to cover us for different eventualities and we've managed to do so thus far but the dynamics might change and we could find ourselves heading for January needing one or two [additions] through misfortune.”

But, what they do not want to jeopardise their targets for a season that is currently proving to be their best since 2000/01, when Alex McLeish’s men sat second after 17 games.

Second thought

“I wasn’t aware of that,” said Ross, “but [it’s about us] recognising where we are at the moment and the opportunity we have.

“The driver for us, first of all, is to be there consistently over the course of the season and, to date, we’ve managed to do that. We’ve been around that top four all season.

“We need to make sure we replicate that over the rest of the season and as a club keep driving to do that season after season.

“If that’s 20 years ago we don’t want that to happen again. We want to continue to push to be as good as we can be.

“It’s a brilliant incentive for the players and staff to have, that potentially at five o’clock on Saturday we could look at the table and see ourselves in that position.”

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