Hibs need creative sparks - not gutsy battlers - to build on County point and break clear of drop zone

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Time to change line-up - or formation - in search for goals?

David Gray understands both the severity of the situation AND the necessary solution. But that’ll only get the Hibs boss halfway to where he wants to be. Where he needs to be.

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Whenever a team is engaged in a relegation battle (and this is already one of those for the Hibees, just 10 games into their Scottish Premiership campaign), the inevitable talking heads will line up to tell the struggling side exactly what they need in their starting XI. Characters. Battlers. Hardened competitors who have been through this sort of thing before.

With all due respect, and without denying the need for players to but bodies on the line – and even take a few bodies out – in order to protect advantageous game situations, there are more pressing concerns for Hibs. As Gray acknowledges.

More than once, as he analysed last night’s not-entirely-grim 0-0 draw with Ross County in Dingwall, the rookie head coach sounded frustrated as he emphasised the importance of better decision making in the opposition red zone. It’s most definitely holding Hibs back, even if the visitors looked far more dangerous than their hosts in the second half, especially.

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Let’s take a look, then, at the key talking points from a baby-steps draw that saw Gray’s men lift themselves off the foot of the table. With a little help from results ‘elsewhere.’

Take a chance on … who?

Looking at the players available to Gray, the starting XI he picked for the trip to the Highlands wasn’t all that surprising. With Dwight Gayle left back in Edinburgh nursing a tight hamstring, he only really had one option at centre forward.

Behind the slightly isolated figure of Mykola Kuharevich, though, is it time to shuffle the pack again? Elie Youan is showing bursts of activity but is yet to turn in a consistently impressive performance since coming back from injury, while Junior Hoilett doesn’t look half as dangerous since he was moved from the left wing to the No. 10 role.

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Hibs have tried any number of players in ‘the hole’, as it used to be known. Or, as one old coaching acquaintance used to call it ‘the mess-about position.’ Only he didn’t say ‘mess’.

If it’s not going to be Josh Campbell or Rudi Molotnikov, and Hoilett is being hamstrung – not literally but figuratively – in order to make space for Youan out wide, what are the other options? Maybe just go to a more traditional 4-3-3, with Nectar Triantis sitting behind Joe Newell and Hyeokkyu Kwon. Rotate your squad of wingers as you see fit, making changes during games, and keep opponents guessing.

Incidentally, there’s not much merit in saying that, if Martin Boyle wasn’t Martin Boyle, he would have been dropped already. His track record suggests he’s still got the ability to break teams down. But it would be nice to see some more current evidence to back this up.

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Opening up the playbook

It’s not possible to break football down into a series of set plays. But there are things Hibs can work on in training, if they’re looking to sharpen up play in that final third.

The big issue is carrying those ideas – solutions to likely problems, mainly – into competition. There’s not much Gray and his coaching staff can do to replicate the intensity of game day. Raising performance levels to meet that challenge is on the players.

Strikers need to produce

Neither Gayle nor Kuharevich can be described as prolific, at present. The former squandered some really good chances against Hearts last weekend, while the latter doesn’t seem to get into brilliant scoring positions with the sort of frequency Hibs would like.

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On Gayle, incidentally, Gray hasn’t yet ruled the veteran striker out of Sunday’s visit of Dundee United, saying: “We're just assessing how that is and how that reacts, but he picked up a bit of a tight hamstring during the game. Hopefully it's not too bad, but we'll assess that and see how he goes.”

Hey Joe, what a performance

Let’s finish on a high. And look at the other end of the park, where the entire back four can be congratulated on keeping a clean sheet in Dingwall.

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No-one will have enjoyed it more than goalkeeper Josef Bursik, who was culpable in the late collapse against Dundee United, and not exactly rock solid as Hibs threw away another lead in Sunday’s derby draw. The former England Under-21 goalkeeper had one early flap in the Highlands, then recovered to make one blinding save while doing the basics very, very well. More, please.

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