It almost feels as if the entire season is hanging by a thread. Or to be more accurate, the frayed hamstring of a 34-year-old striker desperately eager to make an impact.
That Hibs are in a must-win situation ahead of Saturday’s visit of St Mirren is obvious; when you’re at the bottom of the table, the fixture list is packed full of opportunities that must be seized with alacrity. That they’re struggling to score goals is also fairly clear to anyone who can read basic data.
Currently scoring less than once per game, David Gray’s men also have the second lowest xG (expected goals) return of any team in Scotland’s top division. But they are creating more chances. Which is a real positive.
All they need, then, is an experienced, clever, proven striker to tuck those chances away. Simple, right?
With Kieron Bowie on the long-term injury list and Mykola Kuharevich suspended following his red card in Sunday’s late mugging by Dundee United at Easter Road, all eyes naturally turn to Dwight Gayle. The only fully-fledged senior centre forward available to face Saints.
Gray is hopeful that former Newcastle and Crystal Palace goal scorer Gayle will return from the hamstring strain that caused him to miss the 0-0 draw with Ross County in Dingwall and last weekend’s 1-1 draw with United. The fact that the veteran has been back in full training bodes well.
But the gaffer also said he’d put the team through a number of different scenarios in training, in preparation for the possibility of Gayle not making the starting line-up. Let’s took a look, then, at some of the options … from the obvious and logical to the unlikely but intriguing.
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1. Harry McKirdy
Definitely the name that caught the ear when Gray dropped it in conversation yesterday, the Hibs boss revealing that McKirdy actually believes striker to be his best position. The former Swindon forward doesn’t lack confidence, certainly. Yet to score a first-team goal for Hibs, the 27-year-old has looked lively in a handful of substitute appearances this season and, given how hard he’s worked to come back from serious heart surgery, few doubt his desire to prove himself. But it would be a bold move, to say the least, to pitch him into the centre forward role. Even in a tweaked formation. | SNS Group
2. Elie Youan
The French winger has experience of playing at centre forward. He certainly has a lot of the attributes – pace, strength, trickery and an eye for goal - needed to provide a threat through the middle. But Youan hasn’t been a regular starter since returning from injury. Would it be fair to expect him to shoulder such a heavy burden with only limited game time under his belt? | SNS Group
3. Martin Boyle
You know he would do it. Grudgingly, perhaps. But Boyle proudly declares that he would “run through a brick wall” for gaffer Gray – so switching positions shouldn’t represent such a big ask. Boyle’s pace makes him an obvious threat. And, although he generally looks more at ease out on the wing, his experience and nous might make him a realistic option, should Gayle fail his fitness test. Hibs would simply look for balls down the channels and over the top, rather than asking him to compete in the air or hold off a centre half after a pass into feet. | SNS Group
4. Dwight Gayle
The ideal option. The only choice, if fit. At 34, and given the delicate nature of ANY hamstring pull, tweak, strain or tightness, it would be hard to see Gayle lasting the full 90. If he starts at all. But the former Newcastle, Crystal Palace, West Brom and Stoke (among others) striker is the obvious answer to a pressing need. Missed a few good chances against Hearts last time out. You’d fancy him to bury at least one against St Mirren. | SNS Group