Hibs midfield shortage and 'unwatchable' games on barely playable pitches - talking points from Saints draw

Hibs could be facing a crucial personnel crisis in the middle of the park following new signing Alasana Manneh’s red card debut against St Mirren in Paisley, with gaffer David Gray sweating over a knee injury to Dylan Levitt as he prepares to welcome Celtic to Easter Road on Saturday. The nature of Manneh’s dismissal in this afternoon’s grim goalless draw, the former Barcelona prospect picking up two bookings in less than a quarter of an hour on the pitch, means Hibs cannot appeal against referee Ross Hardie’s decision.

With club captain Joe Newell still sidelined with a groin injury, Celtic loanee Hyeokkyu Kwon – a starter today – ineligible and Levitt not even fit enough to be on the bench to face the Buddies, Gray is drastically short of options to partner Nectar Triantis in central midfield. Nathan Moriah-Welsh came on late to help out in a brutal contest – and could be last man standing for duty against the champions this weekend.

Asked about Levitt’s unavailability today, Gray said: “He's had an issue with his knee. He just didn't make it for today.

“He stretched his ligaments in his knee, but hopefully it's just days rather than anything else. It’s nothing too serious, we're hoping, but the game just came too soon.”

Playable but unwatchable

Given the state of the pitch in Paisley, it was probably wise to keep Levitt away from the action today. Getting away with only – hopefully - a minor injury to Jack Iredale felt like a victory of sorts for the visitors.

We can all get a bit sniffy about artificial pitches in elite divisions. But you’d honestly rather play on the old astro carpet at Saughton (ask your dad or grandad) than skite across the skiddy, bobbly and slippery surface that confronted both teams in this one.

Even St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson confessed: “The surface is so difficult to play on. It’s a real challenge to every team that comes here.”

Gray, aware that he might sound like someone looking for excuses, said simply: “It's the same for both teams. It is one of these things that it's fiery, it's lively. I think there's a lot of turnovers in possession, a lot of mistakes in possession.

“But then that comes back to our decision-making, whether it be to take a touch or to play a little bit longer. I think a couple of times in the first half when we did show a little bit of quality and put two and three passes together, we carried a little bit more of a threat. But it wasn't often enough.”

The SPFL impose all sorts of standards on clubs, as you’d expect from a member’s club run by and for the teams who compete against each other on a weekly basis. With artificial pitches to be phased out of the top flight by 2026, it is to be hoped that clubs seize upon this opportunity to raise standards across the board.

Simply requiring clubs to have pitch protection able to make surfaces playable, by the letter of the law and following an inspection by a suitably qualified referee, isn’t enough. Not if you want the football played on those pitches to be watchable. Kind of important, if you still think of the Scottish Premiership as a branch of the entertainment industry.

Rocky on a roll

The performance of Rocky Bushiri this afternoon was entirely in keeping with his most recent outings. The big centre-half is just unstoppable, unbreakable and completely irrepressible at the moment.

Gray isn’t about to argue, the boss insisting: “He's getting better week by week. He's doing really well. He's got a lot of confidence.

“He's in a really good place physically. Probably the best physical condition he's been in since he's been at the club.

“I've been very vocal in praise for Rocky for a number of weeks now and rightly so because of the level of performances he's been putting in. He fully deserves it because of his attitude and everything that he brings.

“And I think the biggest thing that I'm really enjoying in his performances now is he's starting to be a real leader on the pitch now as well, which is a big positive for him. He needs to keep improving because he's that type as well. He wants to always get better. But we're certainly benefiting from big performances from him - and long may that continue.”

Saturday’s lunchtime visit of Celtic will, of course, test Bushiri and his team-mates to the extreme. After three clean sheets on the bounce, and four in their last five fixtures, the back three – plus in-form goalkeeper Jordan Smith – understand the nature of the challenge ahead.

They’re just not entirely sure, for now, about who will be partnering the immovable Triantis in that second ‘holding’ role in midfield. A big few days ahead for the physios, then, right?

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