Mickey Weir: Christian Doidge's Hibs career may not be at an end

It wasn’t a huge surprise to see Christian Doidge leave Hibs to join Kilmarnock on loan for the rest of the season prior to the end of the transfer window.

The lad obviously feels he wants to play every week and, though he played every game for Hibs prior to his move, he mustn’t have got assurances that was going to continue. Football players want to play every week. That’s what it’s all about. You can certainly understand him wanting to get games.

He’s not been at his best to start this season. I think it’s fair to say that. Though I do believe a striker is only as good as his service. If you’re not getting the service then there aren’t many forwards out there who can make chances for themselves.

Doidge is definitely somebody who needs good service to get the best out of him. I go back to a couple of seasons ago where he was getting good service from the likes of Martin Boyle and these types of players, then he was scoring goals. It’s the same with Kevin Nisbet.

Christian Doidge signed for Kilmarnock prior to the end of the transfer window. Picture: SNS

I reckon at Kilmarnock he will get the service he’s looking for. That’s because they’re a team who like to get balls into the box and do it quickly. That suits his game, whereas we labour too long in getting balls into the box.

There’s still a chance he could help Hibs in the future. His contract runs until 2024 and, in football, you’re only as good as your last game. Things can change very quickly both on the pitch and off the pitch. Players can very quickly rediscover their confidence or fitness.

I’m always of the opinion that you never judge a player until they’re fully fit. And there’s a lot of players out there who, when I look at them I think, ‘you’re just not quite there’. They’ve either not had a run of games, or they’ve been up and down, up and down. But once they get into a rhythm it can change completely.

Christian might end up being just like that. He gets a run of games at Kilmarnock, scores some goals and comes back a different player. I would never say never because I’ve seen it too many times in football.

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