Analysis: Why Hibs can’t afford to get caught in the middle

Striking the right balance in midfield has been a conundrum for Hibs for most of the past year, pretty much since John McGinn sealed his move to Aston Villa last August.

Neil Lennon, having also lost Scott Allan and Dylan McGeouch earlier that summer, was unable to solve the problem and when he eventually left in January, the team languished in eighth place and looked short of the required midfield power, cohesion and creativity to compete for the European places.

When Paul Heckingbottom replaced him in February, he managed to cobble together a midfield unit that helped Hibs find notable improvement up until the Scottish Premiership split in mid-April before things fizzled out once more in the closing weeks. Heckingbottom initially went for a 4-4-2, with Mark Milligan and Vykintas Slivka the central duo, but his favoured approach tended to revolve around a central trio, with Milligan anchoring and any two from Slivka, Stevie Mallan and Stephane Omeonga filling the two more advanced positions.

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Over the summer, however, Milligan, an unspectacular but important pillar at the base of midfield, has left, along with Omeonga, who, without being of the calibre of Allan, McGinn or McGeouch, brought some valuable energy, drive and personality to the team. In addition to this, other midfield options like Ryan Gauld, Gael Bigirimana and Marvin Bartley – all fringe men, at best, under Heckingbottom – departed Easter Road.

So far – and with no obvious indication of more arriving – there have only been two new midfield additions: Scott Allan and Josh Vela.

Allan’s return has been unanimously acclaimed by supporters and already he has shown that he is likely to be Hibs’ most important man this season, playing in an advanced central midfield role. The problem is how things will pan out around the talisman, with Mallan, Slivka and Vela the other main contenders to play in the engine room, and none of them, so far, having shown the required level of authority and consistency to drive a team with European aspirations.

Vela was recruited when Hibs were in the market for a defensive midfielder after the proposed arrival of Funso Ojo fell through. Considering he hadn’t previously played since February, Vela has had some promising displays and hasn’t been shy in getting forward, but, on the evidence so far, he is not a steely anchorman in the mould of Milligan or Bartley, who were renowned for their no-frills defence-protecting abilities.

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Given the fact Hibs have been afflicted by injuries to a raft of key defenders so far this season, they could have done with a midfield powerhouse in there to take some of the strain. Beyond the two new recruits, Mallan and Slivka have blown hot and cold throughout their time at Hibs. Both have had some excellent moments in a green jersey, but they have also had too many unconvincing displays for the liking of a support who still have dewy-eyed recollections of the consistency and quality shown by the likes of McGeouch and McGinn in relatively recent times.

Slivka’s main attribute is his energy and ability to drive forward with the ball, but it appears he is being earmarked for a deep-lying central-midfield role, similar to the one he has performed for Lithuania. If he is to be a regular starter this season, he must be a more consistent, more dominant player than the one who has generally failed to command a regular starting role over the past two years. In short, Hibs clearly feel the Lithuanian has plenty of room for improvement if they are banking on him becoming one of their main midfielders. The same applies to Mallan, who needs to start augmenting his impressive goal-scoring ability with regular authoritative midfield performances.

It is still far too early to make a valid judgement on Vela, but if Hibs are to be a solid well-oiled machine this season then they will require the former Bolton Wanderers player – the only defensive-minded midfielder on the books – to be a robust and intelligent presence in front of the back four once he is operating at full pelt.

If Vela becomes unavailable through injury or suspension and Hibs are of no mind to recruit another midfielder, they would have the option of pushing full-backs Steven Whittaker or Lewis Stevenson, or centre-back Paul Hanlon into the holding role, all of which Lennon tried on occasions. Ryan Porteous, too, would also have the combative and ball-playing qualities to step into midfield if required, but supporters would be reluctant to see him moved out of the defence at a time when the backline is looking so flimsy in his absence.

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Reality dictates that it will probably be some time before Hibs are able to call on a midfield as strong as the one that qualified for Europe under Lennon two years ago, but, if he is to take the current team back into the top four, Heckingbottom must find a way of meshing the central midfield options he currently has at his disposal into a more organised and cohesive unit, equipped to aid the attack, protect the defence and maintain control of a match in equal measure.