Michael Weir: My Hibs fears over keeping our clutch of loanees on a permanent basis

Greg Docherty has excelled on loan from Rangers. Pic: SNS

Marc McNulty, Stephane Omeonga, Greg Docherty and Paul McGinn have all, undoubtedly, breathed new life into our season.

But the concern for me is that, other than McGinn, they have all been signed on loan until the end of the season and I’ve never seen a successful football club – certainly not one the size of Hibs – built on a string of loan signings.

McNulty and Omeonga have obviously returned because they enjoyed their time at Easter Road last season, while Docherty seems to have settled into life in Edinburgh very nicely indeed.

What all three are getting is what was missing at their parent clubs, regular-first team football which is what every player wants – it’s never a nice feeling to know you are out of the picture and unlikely to feature from week to week.

Scott Allan discovered that harsh lesson after leaving Hibs for Celtic but he’s found a home at Easter Road and now back on a permanent basis, it’s clear he’s relishing a new lease of life, getting the football he wants and flourishing because he’s finally playing every week.

McNulty, Docherty and Omeonga are, of course, contracted to other clubs who will have a major say in their futures, but come the summer it will be interesting to see what happens.

Finances will feature heavily. Can Hibs afford, if they want to keep them in a green and white jersey, to pay transfer fees for each if required? The individuals themselves will have an input.

Would they be willing, for example, to take a pay cut, to make that sacrifice for the sake of playing? You can’t blame any player for looking to maximise their earnings, but for most players they just want to play football.

Bringing players in on loan also raises the danger of simply putting them in the shop window. Yes, the team benefits from having them around, but if they do well then others, perhaps with deeper pockets, will soon sit up and take notice.

The respective parent clubs, as I have said, hold all the cards, but these guys are at Hibs because they weren’t getting regular football where they were, another question for them to answer, do they think they’ll get that guarantee next season.