Hibs have chance to get points on the board early and avoid nightmare Heckingbottom scenario of last season

Easter Road side has chance to get points on board in busy opening month

Jack Ross' Hibs team face a busy August but have a real chance of a strong start to the campaign

Few Hibs fans will need a reminder about the first three months of last season - three points on the opening day against St Mirren, followed by 98 days without a win.

There were respectable results in that run, including 1-1 draws at home to Celtic and away to Aberdeen, but the crushing 6-1 loss to Rangers at Ibrox in week two and losing the first Edinburgh derby from a winning position at Easter Road coupled with a habit of conceding injury-time equalisers left the Capital club in a precarious league position with just nine points from 11 matches. Ultimately, those games cost Paul Heckingbottom his job as head coach.

This year, Hibs’ opening seven fixtures are against Kilmarnock (H), Livingston (A), Dundee United (A), Motherwell (H), St Johnstone (A), Aberdeen (H) and St Mirren (A). With back-to-back fixtures following against Rangers (H) and Celtic (A) in September, Hibs will be looking to rack up as many points as they can in a frantic first month.

The trip to Livingston in week two, the first away match of the campaign, will be something of a litmus test for Jack Ross and his team. The Lions lost just two league fixtures on home “turf” last term - to Aberdeen and Rangers - and picked up four points from two games against Celtic, as well as beating Hibs quite comfortably in late December.

A midweek trip to Tannadice just three days after the Livingston match is another potential banana skin. Matches between the two teams have been hard-fought in recent seasons and while the sides met on Scottish Cup duty earlier this year, the Terrors will have a new manager at the helm and could be this season’s “surprise package”.

Hibs are unbeaten in their last six league games against Motherwell at Easter Road with four wins and two draws on the board, and have won on their last two visits to McDiarmid Park, while Aberdeen were on the receiving end of a 3-0 scoreline on their last trip to Leith. The Steelmen finished third and the Dons fourth, but Hibs should not fear a visit from either of them on their own patch.

On paper, Hibs could feasibly win all seven matches, although 12-15 points may be a more realistic expectation for fans given the number of games in quick succession and some potentially tricky away days.

There will likely be plenty of transfer activity for all clubs between now and the start of the season as well, and it is as yet unknown how teams could be impacted by playing matches in near-empty stadiums.

Either way, Hibs will be eager to post some strong early results and exorcise the ghosts of last season’s opening run. Not facing either of the Old Firm until September and hosting the two “best of the rest” at Easter Road gives them a fighting chance.