Michael Weir: Jack Ross deserves praise for taking Hibs forward

Jack Ross has done well in consistently bringing in quality players to Hibs who can help take the team forward.

Jack Ross deserves praise for working hard to take Hibs to the next level

The club clearly has a certain route that they want to go down with transfers in bringing in young players and developing them, which is good to see.

Getting the balance right in the team is important – you can’t have too many youngsters with potential and not have any experienced players in there.

The difference is that experienced players can come in and hit the ground running whereas the younger players might present more of a gamble.

You always hope that they come through and fulfil their potential but it doesn’t always work like that.

It remains to be seen how successful the signings will be but on paper I think they look decent.

In terms of balance in the team I think we're okay in certain areas of the pitch but I just worry a bit about focusing too much on buying potential all the time.

It’s a bit of a risky business – if it works out then great, but if it doesn’t it can be a problem.

In terms of how it's gone so far at Hibs I don't think we can complain with the likes of Kevin Nisbet and Kyle Magennis.

It remains to be seen if the club has come out of the window stronger. A lot of players have still got to find their way; it’s still early days and we can’t judge these players on one or two games.

It’s a good sign that we're trying to improve and you can’t ask for much more than that. Aiming for better is the most important thing.

If you aren’t prepared to move forward and try to get better players in then that’s when the problems start.

But at the moment Hibs are sitting top of the league. Going forward we look very, very good. It’s still early days but we’ll be able to tell five or six months down the line.

They have to slowly but surely build the club and Ross is doing that – bringing in people who can move the club forward and that’s to be applauded.

Slowly but surely the plan is coming together and we have to trust the manager.

It’s massively important to keep players at the club who can take it to the next level. We’ve seen down the years players leaving maybe a bit too early, and then there are situations like John McGinn where the money was good and he was ready to make the step up – that’s a different ball game.

The club has done well in securing some on longer contracts because trying to replace players of their quality is difficult.

To me, you cannot build a successful club with loanees every year. As a short-term fix they might work but for building a successful football club sustainability is key and it looks like that’s what the Hibs hierarchy are trying to do. That’s the best way to run a football club.

It might take time but for me that’s the best route forward. You can't build a football club on six-month and season-long loan deals.

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