Hibs face Livingston in their Scottish Championship opener in barely five weeks time with a squad reminiscent of the bare shelves in Next following day one of their post Christmas sale.
Since the end of the season the Hibees have released fourteen players, sold James Collins to Shrewsbury and allowed Northern Ireland international Ryan McGivern to depart to Port Vale.
Alan Stubbs informed the press of his pre-planning for the Hibs job and had worked on a list of potential signing targets before even meeting Easter Road Chief Executive Leeann Dempster for his interview so supporters are rightly worrying over the lack of transfer activity by the club.
As it stands, Hibs have no recognised goalkeeper with only 19 year old Kleton Perntreou, yet to make even a competitive appearance on the bench, available for Saturday’s first pre season friendly against Vale of Leithen.
Defensively there’s no recognised right full back although Jordan Forster can deputise there despite being a more natural centre half whilst Callum Booth, having just returned from a years loan at Raith Rovers, is the only ‘proper’ left back at Easter Road.
Midfield remains the strongest part of the squad remaining, a legacy of Pat Fenlon’s spell in charge however Alex Harris is the only winger on the books and the perpetual complaint of a lack of speed remains.
Paul Heffernan, signed by Fenlon last season, remains the solitary senior striking option with promising youngster Jason Cummings also still under contract but surely the striking positions will be strengthened prior to the big kick off.
With pre season already underway fans are questioning the signing policy of the club, brought to its knees following the calamitous Terry Butcher reign which culminated in relegation from the Premiership.
Stubbs has yet to confirm his assistant with Andy Holden expected to be confirmed sooner rather than later but if Hibs are to hit the ground running in their attempt to regain top flight status then immediate arrivals are required to allow those newcomers enough time to catch up to fitness levels on a par with teammates and more importantly give Stubbs the chance to integrate them into his playing ethos.
If the new Head Coach has delivered his potential targets to the CEO it’s now been a week since he was appointed and surely some inroads have been made.
A marquee signing or two would boost morale amongst a beleaguered fan base and would also help boost dormant season ticket sales which are down some two and a half thousand from last year.
Hibs fans are looking for the club to be ambitious rather than scouring the bargain basement bin which has been the case more so than not in recent history and it’s about time their loyalty was rewarded rather than tested.
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Shocking state of affairs that we haven’t got a soul in yet even on trial. I realise these things take time but a keeper should be in already and began working with his defence. Communication and understanding are the hardest things to work on in training.