Michael Weir: Where I think Hibs could look to strengthen in January

With the transfer window nearly upon us it will be interesting to see what Jack Ross does in terms of signings.

Jack Ross has brought in seven players on a mix of loans and permanent deals so far but could he delve into the transfer market again next month?

I think the main departments needing looked at are the defence and the midfield.

At least one centre-back would be useful because if one or two of the good, experienced defenders were to be out injured for a long time then I fear Hibs would start to struggle. We saw glimpses of that in the Betfred Cup group games – although that was mostly due to international call-ups and squad rotation.

In the middle, if they were to lose the likes of Joe Newell, who is a big player for them, there’s maybe an argument for bringing in a similar player.

Managers are always trying to improve their team, and their squad, but I worry what would happen if Hibs were to lose one or two of the key players.

Even without Paul Hanlon for the League Cup game against Dundee they struggled a bit, despite getting the win and progressing.

The team looks to have enough about them to go and score goals but they need a bit more defensively and in the middle of the park.

I think that’s where they could look to strengthen in January, but in terms of numbers rather than quality. Hibs have coped with the odd injury but once one of the key players is out, that’s when they would start to feel it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the manager is looking at that as well – he'll know what needs to be improved.

I just think they're a bit light in certain areas but that’s not the manager's fault; the coronavirus situation won’t have helped. He may be keen to bring in one or two signings next month to bulk out his squad a bit but if not, it’s been good to see some of the younger players get a chance this season.

Josh Doig started well and now Steven Bradley has been getting that bit of exposure and looks to have something to give.

Jack Ross certainly seems to have embraced Hibs’ tradition of always having wide players by bringing Bradley in and while we’ve not seen a lot of him so far, we know he’s getting a chance because the manager trusts him.

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