Hibs sit uncomfortably amid fan grumbles, patchy form, quiet transfer window and rise of Hearts

Perhaps if David Gray’s team were winning matches on a regular basis, things would be different. But after crashing out of the Scottish Cup to Dunfermline Athletic earlier this month, Hibs’ follow-up performance - a dreadfully insipid 4-1 defeat by Falkirk on Saturday - has darkened the atmosphere around Leith.

Hibs went into 2026 with a spring in their step after beating Hearts 3-2 in the Christmas derby and then backing it up with a 2-0 victory over Aberdeen. Turning over Kilmarnock 3-1 on January 3 gave supporters some optimism for the second half of the season, particularly if new recruits could be brought in. Hibs haven’t won since, and are in danger of watching their season peter out.

Losing to Dunfermline was a shocker. Hibs would have had designs on going deep in an open Scottish Cup. Under Gray, Hibs often respond from adversity with a good display. It was anything but at Falkirk. Outclassed all over the pitch, the manager apologised for what his team produced. Defender Jordan Obita admitted the Bairns “out-worked” them. The past two matches have set alarm bells ringing.

Hibs are in a tricky spot. Matching last season’s achievement of finishing third in his first season at the helm was always going to be a tough ask for Gray. It is admirable that until now, he has not suffered the same drop in performance levels that cost Steven Naismith and Barry Robson their jobs at Hearts and Aberdeen respectively in their second term in office after landing best of the rest. Yet for some fans, he is entering that territory.

A legend for his service as a player, Gray’s credit with a section of the Hibs support is running low. There are complaints about his style of football, his tactics and his game management. This season has been littered with ‘what-if’ moments, both at home and abroad. The concession of late goals cost them in Europe against Midtjylland and Legia Warsaw, and domestically in the first derby of the season against Hearts. As well as losing to the Pars, they limply departed the Premier Sports Cup against a then out-of-sorts Rangers. Leads have been coughed up cheaply against Kilmarnock, Livingston and Falkirk.

It’s not been all bad. The aforementioned derby win over Hearts, which sparked a stirring rendition of Sunshine on Leith, was a coup given where Derek McInnes’ men are in the league table. Hibs held Celtic in Glasgow, defeated Aberdeen at Pittodrie. But for every step forward, there has been a step backwards. A 2-0 November defeat at Motherwell really stung.

Hibs’ slow transfer window

Gray is not the only one coming under the pump. Questions are being asked as to why Hibs have displayed the pace of a tortoise thus far in the transfer window. They are a striker short in attack and their midfield could do with another forward-thinking operator. On the right, competition is required for Chris Cadden and Kanayo Megwa. Attention has turned to sporting director Malky Mackay, head of recruitment Garvan Stewart and chief executive Dan Barnett, who has not spoken publicly since his arrival last August.

It is all a bit quiet at Easter Road right now.

Hibs need activity before the window slams shut. They’ve been linked with a few of players in Bochum defender Felix Passlack, Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri and Sligo Rovers forward Owen Elding. But given the guts of £2 million was spent over the summer on the likes of Thibault Klidje, Miguel Chaiwa, Josh Mulligan and Raphael Sallinger, there isn’t a lot left to play with. Hibs posted losses north of £7m in their last set of accounts and the next set may not be too dissimilar.

The Gordon family says it is still wholly committed to the football club and split from Bill Foley’s Black Knight group earlier this season, buying back the 25 per cent shareholding, 19 months after welcoming the Las Vegas-based group into the fold. “Philosophical differences” were cited for the parting of ways. The Gordons now own 85 per cent of Hibs and it remains to be seen whether a fresh partnership will be brokered with another investor.

With the rise of Hearts - and to a lesser extent Motherwell this season - Hibs should be assessing their options. In the space of six months they have been rapidly overtaken by their capital rivals. Hibs fans may not like to admit it, but the Jam Tarts’ serious title challenge is making their own situation tougher to deal with. Envy is a natural emotion when it comes to football rivalries. Sitting fifth in the table would not look as bad if Hearts were in and around them.

As it is, the gap is 16 points. With 15 matches to go, Hearts are not their immediate rival any more. Motherwell, in fourth, are five points clear but behind them, the gap to upwardly mobile Falkirk is just two points. Managerless Aberdeen are eight points behind Hibs but will have designs on a top-six berth too.

A big fortnight for Hibs

The next fortnight has a defining feel about it. The transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday. A day earlier, they welcome in-form Rangers to Easter Road, a team they have not yet scored a goal against in three meetings, never mind defeated. Then Dundee United arrive on February 4, before a trip across the city to Tynecastle on February 11.

Hibs fans will hope fresh blood is injected into the squad by then - and Gray probably will too. His best player this season has been midfielder Mulligan but he is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. A definitive prognosis on the 23-year-old has not been given but he is a doubt for those three aforementioned fixtures. The most vital cog in the manager’s wheel, the likes of Chaiwa aren’t yet convincing replacements. No 6 Dan Barlaser is a nice passer of the ball but without a harder operator next to him, Hibs toil in the midfield battle.

Converting chances remains a problem too. Kieron Bowie and Martin Boyle have had their moments this season but aren’t prolific, albeit at times starved off service. Klidje has not done anything yet to show he is a million-pound player. Hibs’ biggest creative outlet remains from the left, via either Nicky Cadden or Jamie McGrath. If teams cut off that supply chain, the defenders often go direct to Bowie or into the channels for Boyle. Some critics point to a predictable nature to Hibs’ play. It is why Gray needs backing in the next few days, and why the coach may need to consider abandoning the 3-4-1-2 formation that brought so much success last season. Many opponents have Hibs' number.

Eighteen months into his Hibs tenure, entertaining the thought of dispensing with a coach who, at the age of 37, is still very much a work in progress is hard to stomach. When you make such an appointment, there will be bumps in the road. But patience levels are at their lowest in football’s history and Gray will be all too aware that performances and, ultimately, results will need to pick up swiftly before the clamour really intensifies. The former right-back managed to evade the axe just a few months into his reign last season and he has a resolute, steely nature that will stand him in good stead in this challenging period.

While Hibs are by no means a ‘bad’ team, there can also be no escaping the fact that while rivals have progressed, they have at best stagnated, perhaps even regressed. That is why the coming days are crucial if this season is to be rescued from becoming a mid-table scrap. Hibs can still be very much in the conversation for the European places - and that is the least expected of them by a restless fanbase.