Hibs return to action after the international break with a trip north to face a Dundee side who are exceeding early season expectations. Dundee sit two points ahead of Hibs in the table, and Saturday presents Nick Montgomery’s side with the perfect opportunity to leapfrog their hosts and stake a claim for a top six spot.

With a welcome three points in their last match heading into the break, Hibs will be looking to put a winning run together for the first time this season - in fact, back to back league wins have eluded Hibs so far.

Hibs drew a blank the last time the sides met, which was at Easter Road at the end of September. Despite enjoying the bulk of the play, Hibs couldn’t find a way through a resilient Dundee defence, and that will be the challenge on Saturday as well. Dylan Vente’s goalscoring touch has deserted him in recent matches, and with injury doubts over Christian Doidge and Adam Le Fondre, Montgomery has had to rely on Josh Campbell to bolster the scoring capability of the team.

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Dundee have been the surprise package of the season so far, and their 4-0 thumping of St Mirren certainly caught people’s attention, so Hibs are by no means favourites for this match despite it being a fixture that, at the start of the season at least, we’d expect to win.

It does feel as though things are close to clicking for Hibs, despite a frustrating number of draws and the disappointment of the Hampden defeat to Aberdeen, there have been definite signs of improvement at Easter Road, culminating in that win over Killie before the break.

If that wasn’t enough cause for optimism, then the increased rumblings of news of billionaire Bill Foley’s interest in the club has certainly caught the imagination of some fans.

Foley has just successfully acquired an A-League licence for an Auckland-based team (yet to be named) and in his press updates he again referenced a Scottish side – believed to be Hibs - as an integral part of his wider plans to run a multi-club group headed by Bournemouth in the English Premier League.

Foley has spoken previously about using a Scottish side as a pathway for player progressing up the levels to eventually feed into Bournemouth, and he has stated that a ‘modest’ investment into the club would be enough to secure regular European football through third place finishes.

For a Hibs support who are used to seeing Hearts and Aberdeen, throw money at their respective clubs over recent years, the thought of trumping both with the backing of a billionaire does hold a fair bit of appeal. That’s not to say Hibs haven’t spent money since the Gordons took over, they have – just not at a comparable level.

It’s been Hibs’ good fortune that neither Hearts nor Aberdeen have managed to establish themselves as the third force while they’ve enjoyed the financial advantage, and so there is still an opportunity for Hibs to claim that spot, should any investment be spent wisely.

Foley’s plans include using the wider group resources to benefit all of the clubs, with improvements to scouting, sport science etc likely to form part of the investment. There is some concern among the support about Hibs status as a feeder club, but I have to say that is something I’m relaxed about. Ultimately, Hibs are a feeder club at the moment – just not for one team.

Our best players move on to bigger clubs, with the English Championship and Serie A clubs taking the likes of Ryan Porteous, Kevin Nisbet, and Josh Doig respectively. Does it make much of a difference if our next stars were to sign for Bournemouth instead? I don’t think so, personally.

There is a concern that the club loses autonomy on players coming into the club, however. I do think that’s a legitimate concern and any plans for signings would have to be with the interests of Hibs first and Bournemouth second for this type of arrangement to work.

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By that, I mean that Bournemouth should benefit from Hibs’ improved recruitment activity, with the recruitment team getting the right players for the positions that need strengthened according to the director of football and the manager, rather than the manager having to find a way to fit in a player to suit Bournemouth.

I do take comfort in Foley’s ambition to have Hibs competing regularly in Europe, as to achieve this he needs Hibs functioning as a successful team in its own right, and not just acting as a platform to give minutes to players on their way to ‘bigger’ things.

Regardless, the speculation has allowed us to let our imaginations run away for a while, and you’ll struggle to find a Hibee who wouldn’t relish the chance to spend a few years as the dominant ‘best of the rest’ club at the expense of their rivals.

We just need to hope that if Foley does indeed invest in the club, that he goes all in and does it properly, as a well-resourced, fighting fit Hibs will be a force to be reckoned with!