Imperfect Hibs are on a roll - so can they maintain momentum with wins over Saints and Rangers?

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Gray’s men head into 2025 on a high - and getting stronger as key men return

Tougher tests lie in wait. And nobody, least of all the man who has masterminded this remarkable recovery in form, confidence, performance levels and general feelgood factor, is pretending that Hibs are the complete team.

But the 19,000-plus crowd who pitched up at Easter Road for yesterday’s Scottish Premiership contest, a game played in the sort of gusting high winds that make every high ball an adventure in unpredictability, would all have left convinced of one thing. Namely, that David Gray now boasts a team and a squad distinguished by that most valuable of qualities for any SPFL side – durability.

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Amazing what a few good results can do, isn’t it? At the start of December, despite appearing to have turned a corner with a madcap home draw against Aberdeen, a stunning away win over Motherwell and an encouraging showing in a heavy defeat at Celtic Park, Hibs were still sitting bottom of the table, still drowning under a flood of memes about them falling apart. Again.

Four straight victories later, they’re within three points of fifth place, with its promise of European football. Had the results been more evenly spread throughout the season, rather than divided into a bleak run of horrific form followed by a stirring fightback, most Hibs fans would consider the campaign to have been reasonable, rather than spectacular.

As they head into 2025 with a testing doubleheader away to St Johnstone and at home to Rangers, those supporters are entitled to feel like the momentum is still building. Let’s take a look at the factors behind the current run – and examine the chances of Hibs remaining on their current trajectory.

Tilting the balance

Let’s examine the last five games – starting with the 3-0 defeat to Celtic in Glasgow, to be fair – as a sample. And consider the following numbers.

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During that stretch of fixtures, Gray’s men have outperformed their opposition in both expected goals (xG) and what the stats guys call, rather cryptically, Big Chances. Can you figure out what that second one means?

Even including that tough day away to the reigning champions and all-conquering league leaders, Hibs have ‘outscored’ their opponents 21-11 in terms of Big Chances. In their last two fixtures, they’ve prevented both Hearts and Kilmarnock from creating a single high-quality scoring opportunity. Balance has been restored to the universe.

Bodies on the line

Let’s be honest. When Joe Newell didn’t emerge from the tunnel for the start of the second half yesterday, a good few thousand of those inside Easter Road would have been just a little worried.

The fact that Hibs managed to get through the second half without mishap, in the main, reflected well on substitute Hyeokkyu Kwon. Lewis Miller deputising so effectively for Warren O’Hora for the full 90 minutes, with the Irishman just resting a niggling ankle injury picked up in the win over Ross County, was another positive.

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Gray also managed to patch together a strike forced without either Elie Youan, who must have damaged his foot during those post-derby celebrations at Tynecastle, or Mykola Kuharevich. While keeping Dwight Gayle on the bench for most of the game.

Sure, the bench still looks a little short of first-team quality; Luke Amos must occasionally wonder why he’s even listed among the subs, except to make up the numbers. But, with Kuharevich expected back in time for Thursday’s trip to Perth and Rudi Molotnikov not far away from a return, Hibs might just be developing some strength in depth.

Contrasting challenges

St Johnstone away, traditionally a fixture holding all the appeal of a trip to the dentist, represents a tough test for Hibs. Mainly because they’ll be expected to win.

And there is always a danger of attention being drawn by Sunday’s visit of Rangers. Who knows what shape the Light Blues will be in by then, right?

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A corner turned?

Gray, for one, is shying away from all talk of feeling vindicated or justified by the recent upturn in form, simply saying: “It's a lot better feeling, that's for sure. So I’m delighted, as I said, for everyone, the staff, all the hard work that's went into it.

“But by no means now have we turned the corner. Yes, we have turned the corner in terms of results and performances - but we've demonstrated how quickly it can change.”

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