Mickey Weir: Why I'm still excited for the start of the season as Hibs fan

I love the start of every season. When I was a young fan, then a player, then back to being a fan again, it’s just a great feeling going into that first league fixture.

I am looking forward to it even though it's not been the best of starts from a Hibs perspective. Because I know that football can change so quickly. One good result and everything is hunky dory again.

Let’s be honest, it's not been great. We've not performed. But you've got to look at the big picture as well. We've brought in a lot of players, a lot of younger players, who are going to find it tough in the Premiership. It's not going to be easy. I don't envision it being an easy ride, not when you're bringing in so many signings who will need time to find their feet at the club and meet expectations. It's not just going to happen.

I don't see it being a strong season for Hibs. I didn't think we'd be flying even before the disappointment of the Premier Sports Cup group stages. It's going to take a while to get it to where we want it to be. But sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward.

Hibs will face St Johnstone in their Scottish Premiership opener this Saturday. Picture: SNS

On the other hand, if we get a good start and get confidence going early then things can be different. That first win is always important. If we can get a win at St Johnstone then those results in the Premier Sports Cup will soon feel immaterial. From there we just need to take it week by week and hope we can build on it.

What we can’t do is panic and begin talking about getting rid of Lee Johnson and trying to bring in another manager. There is no way the club’s board are going to build a success side if they fire the manager every time there’s a few bad results.

You've got to give him the time that's needed. If it takes two years, then it takes two years – as long as we’re seeing progress along the way. If there are signs that things are going in the right direction then we're just going to have to believe, because we're trying to build something which will give us a team worthy of competing at the top end of the table and entertaining the fans across a number of years.

I was encouraged the club brought in a lot of players over the summer. The squad certainly needed overhauled. But, again, I'm wary about the lack of experience. It’s a problem which has existed for a number of years now.

The club have obviously done their research and brought in a number of talents at ages where they’ll be expected to improve as time goes on, but if we were to play six or seven players in their early 20s going into the Scottish Premiership then that would worry me. The demands are difficult in this league. If we can get a couple of more experience players around the new recruits then it would make the adjustment easier for them and they can thrive sooner rather than later.

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