Hibs had a midfield problem. Has Lee Johnson managed to fix it, even just temporarily?

Two Hibs midfielders caught the eye throughout the season and were rightly recognised – but is something bigger at play here?

In the end it was somewhat resounding, Joe Newell picking up the Players’ Player of the Year and the supporters’ Player of the Year awards at Hibs’ recent end-of-season prize-giving. It was significant, too, that his midfield colleague Josh Campbell picked up the Young Player of the Year award after running Newell close for the main award as well as the Goal of the Season gong.

Jake Doyle-Hayes also deserves a mention – the Irish midfielder had no luck with injuries this season but in the few matches he did play in 2023 he looked like a different player, thanks in part to manager Lee Johnson’s determination to bring out the attacking side of his game. The arrival of Jimmy Jeggo has made a difference too, as did CJ Egan-Riley’s presence in there when Doyle-Hayes and Newell both joined Kyle Magennis on the sidelines earlier this year.

Johnson’s years as a midfielder himself are clearly helping to solve a long-running problem in EH7 that was evident even in August just past. After a meek 1-0 defeat by St Mirren in the Paisley sun, the Easter Road boss ripped into his team, even interrupting his post-match thoughts for Hibs TV at the SMiSA Stadium to respond with ‘you’re not wrong, pal’ when a happy Buddies fan informed him, ‘Lee, your team is absolutely brutal’.

Hibs midfielder pair Josh Campbell and Jake Doyle-Hayes combine to stop Celtic forward Daizen Maeda in his tracks at Easter Road

It hadn’t been a vintage performance by Hibs by any stretch of the imagination, and the midfield trio of Campbell, Doyle-Hayes, and Newell – which had been criticised last season time and time again for being too similar or one-dimensional – certainly could have performed better.

It might have gone unnoticed by a lot of fans for obvious reasons but in the second half of the 4-2 victory against Celtic, the same trio combined in midfield for most of the second half as the hosts turned the game on its head in emphatic fashion. A lot can change in 30 or so games.

Compared to last season Campbell has been a revelation in the middle of the park: an energetic, versatile, bustling goal threat. He played over 900 minutes more this season compared to last, the equivalent of around ten games, but the uptick in his numbers for important metrics – key passes, shots on target, accurate crosses, and interceptions – was significant.

There was a time when many people, this writer included, viewed Campbell as a predominantly defensively-minded player. He showed flashes of ability, particularly in the League Cup semi-final victory over Rangers, but that level of consistency wasn’t there, even allowing for his tender years. But the season just past produced a tireless runner and a source of goals from midfield; also something Hibs have missed recently. Campbell only recently turned 23 and amid reported interest from Italy and England, the importance of next season for the boyhood Hibee cannot be underestimated.

Joe Newell enjoyed a more productive second half to the season - and it was no coincidence

Renew(ell)ed sense of vigour

Notable also was that Newell posted his best stats since the curtailed 2019/20 season – ten goal involvements in all competitions, most coming in the second half of the league campaign. In 2019/20 he had a plethora of midfielders alongside him including Scott Allan, Greg Docherty, Vykintas Slivka, Stevie Mallan, Stephane Omeonga and Melker Hallberg but more recently the criticism was that the Hibs midfielders are too similar to play together, perhaps coinciding with him posting lower returns for goal contributions.

Yet the Englishman remains a polarising figure amongst the support. Some rate him and have slated him as a future captain, while others demand more from him. The player himself has acknowledged a need to add more goals to his game, and more assists, but when you’re trying to operate as a jack-of-all-trades midfielder rather than specialising as one particular type, that can complicate matters.

Johnson spoke in February about playing with a six, an eight, and a ten in midfield – essentially a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box, and a playmaker. In Jeggo he has a six; while Doyle-Hayes and Newell can both perform as eights, while Campbell has looked best suited to the ten role. Towards the end of the season he was making use of a 4-1-4-1 / 4-1-2-2-1 formation, with Jeggo screening the defence and Newell and Campbell or Newell and Doyle-Hayes as the eights. Possibly makeshift, but it was pretty effective.

What happens now?

There is certainly a feeling that Johnson managed to cobble together an effective midfield combination in the second half of the season at least, despite missing Doyle-Hayes and Magennis for most of the campaign, but going into the European campaign Hibs could be without the Cavan man, and it remains to be seen if Magennis will be match fit in time too. Links with players such as Jonny Williams, most recently of Swindon, suggests that Johnson is still searching for the perfect blend in his midfield corps.

There’s also Ewan Henderson, who the manager challenged to find more consistency; the returning Nohan Kenneh, due back from his Ross County loan, and possibly Allan Delferrière, who impressed for the development side in the latter stages of the 2022/23 season and made the matchday squad on numerous occasions, coming on as a second-half substitute in the final game of the season against Hearts.

Johnson will be wary of having a bloated squad and too many players competing for limited positions. But working in his favour is the fact that he identified problems in the midfield and managed to fix them, even if only temporarily. That bodes well for the future – no matter who the midfield options are.

One thing is for sure though – Newell will be at the centre of things, figuratively and literally, and if Johnson can get the accompanying blend right, the Hibs engine room could be running a lot more smoothly next season.