With the Premier Sports Cup group stage steadily navigated, there's little else but the prospect of fresh arrivals on the minds of Hibs fans.

Questions asked of David Gray over the weekend, although obligingly answered, did not shed too much light on the progress being made in adding to a squad still in need of work. There is, of course, only so much the head coach can say as efforts continue behind the scenes, with the forward areas being prioritised, but he did admit he'd rather those efforts had borne fruit 'three or four weeks ago'.

As Sunday's Scottish Premiership opener at St Mirren gets steadily closer, Gray remains hopeful that it will be days, not weeks, before he is able to welcome new faces. It's been a month since the Capital club confirmed the signing of Marvin Ekpiteta, and the pace of business has slowed since, with only back-up goalkeeper Jordan Smith being unveiled in the meantime. Pairing Ekpiteta with Warren O'Hora at centre-back, and adding Josef Bursik in goals behind them, was a strong start to the window and addressed a weakness which had long predated Gray's arrival. The thirst for transfer news is relentless, though, and whenever one deal is concluded, attention simply turns to what's next.

Gray has spoken for weeks on end about the need to add depth in the attacking areas but has refused to hit the panic button as he waits for the right player. “Well there's lots of plates spinning so to speak," he said last week. "And we'll just see where we are with that. But behind the scenes there's always the full department working on that as hard as we can.”

Scotland under-21 international Kieron Bowie's situation has been monitored, but several other Scottish clubs are eyeing the Fulham forward, who spent two loan spells with Northampton Town in the EFL. Swansea City striker Mykola Kukharevych, popular during an injury-disrupted 2022/23 loan spell at Easter Road, is also on the club's radar for a potential return. Elsewhere, it's understood a report from Sweden that claimed Hibs could yet seek to bring Emiliano Marcondes back to Edinburgh is wide of the mark, while links to Toronto FC attacker Cassius Mailula have also been played down.

The longer the clock ticks down to that first Premiership outing, the more expectant fans become, and Gray acknowledged after beating Peterhead at the weekend that the process can be 'frustrating for all involved'. But he has not deviated from his position that recruiting the right players takes priority over simply making an arbitrary number of signings. 

Would he rest easier if he had a striker in the door before the weekend? "100 per cent," Gray said on Saturday. "But it's not as simple as that," he added. 

It's clear Hibs want to recruit an alternative profile to that offered by Dylan Vente. The Dutchman started the competitive season strongly with a hat-trick against Elgin City in the first Premier Sports Cup match, but his finishing has let him down since. Vente, while clearly talented, still does not project the aura of a man brimming with confidence. Some competition might be just what he needs to rediscover a killer instinct.

Harry McKirdy has looked bright in brief spells, but his intermittent involvement so far suggests he may not be 100 per cent fit and firing by the time Sunday rolls around, while Élie Youan remains sidelined for 'a couple of weeks'. It's a precarious position, as any further injuries in forward areas without re-enforcements would be a major problem, and simply further highlights the need for depth.

The anxiety that spiked when O'Hora limped off against Peterhead with, as Gray described, an 'impact injury' of which the severity is still unclear, was yet more emphasis on how easily best-laid plans can be thrown off course with a squad as unbalanced as this one. Jordan Obita is currently the only senior left-back and although Hibs have distanced themselves from links to Ipswich Town's Corrie Ndaba, it is another area that could be addressed before the window closes at the end of next month, with only Kanayo Megwa - better known as a right-sided defender - spending any sort of time there as back-up. 

But while it's understandable that the mood of supporters is directly correlated with the pace of transfer business, getting things done early is not the sole indicator of effective recruitment. The Summer 2022 transfer window delivered a succession of rapid arrivals across May, June and July, yet it's not a window that has been looked back upon as a success. Sometimes, the right players are worth waiting for. As is often the case after a major international tournament, clubs can be forced to wait longer for the dominoes to fall elsewhere before getting the green light to move for preferred targets.

Away from the swirl of signing speculation, though, the mood inside Gray's squad ahead of Sunday is positive. Almost every player to meet the media since he was given the job has spoken with enthusiasm about the atmosphere being fostered by the new head coach and his staff. Nathan Moriah-Welsh, elated after scoring his first Hibs goal on Saturday, went one further in declaring his own self-belief has soared since reporting back for pre-season. The blip at Kelty aside, the Premier Sports Cup group was handled professionally and offered glimpses of what Gray wants to mould this team into. It is not a given, as countless upsets have shown over the years, that top-flight sides will roll their lower-ranked opponents over, and for that Hibs deserve credit, even if topping the group was a little too close comfort in the end.

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There can be no doubt, however, that the coming weekend will be a significant step up. St Mirren may find themselves fatigued from Europa Conference League exertions on Thursday, but they're still the bookies' favourites to take all three points - an indicator of how Hibs are being viewed by external onlookers at the moment. Would some shrewd additions before Sunday shift that dial a little? Perhaps, but, more importantly, they would give Gray more tools to work with in his mission to rebuild Hibs.