With the Hibs team taking advantage of the winter break to get some warm weather training under their belt in Dubai, fans have been waiting patiently on signing news from the club. To date, however, there have been no ‘scarf above the head’ official announcements of incoming players.

Should we be concerned, though? That’s a hard one to answer. On one hand, the team desperately needs strengthened. Sitting in 6th place in the table going into the break, Hibs are underachieving so far this season, and the lack of strength in depth has played a big part in that.

There are also questions over some players’ suitability to play Nick Montgomery’s favoured system. There’s no doubt that Monty’s stamped his identity on how the team is going to play, there’s also no doubt that we’re yet to see the team implement that system fluently and effectively on a consistent basis.

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Montgomery confirmed on Friday that the club have taken Leeds United defender Kris Moore on trial in Dubai, and that they have also joined by free agent Brazilian winger Adryan Tavares, most recently of Brescia in Serie B.

The suggestion that Hibs are at the stage of looking at trialists rather than nailed down targets might be a reason for concern for some, January is a short window and you could argue that Hibs don’t have time to cast an eye over a number of trialists when we should be securing signatures of players we are confident can impact the starting eleven.

On the flip side, there is also a theory that Hibs are keeping their powder dry with the prospect of Bill Foley’s investment on the horizon. On that matter, Foley was on record talking about an exciting South American talent that Bournemouth are hoping to announce (thought to be Equadorian midfielder, Oscar Zambrano), who they would loan out to one of Bournemouth’s ‘sister clubs’, with Foley quoting Hibs as a potential destination.

Foley’s comments gave an insight into how he sees the relationship between the clubs working, with the ultimate aim of Bournemouth getting a player ready to play in the English Premier League having developed at Auckland, Hibs, or Lorient. Some might find Hibs’ standing in that set-up a little unpalatable, however I think if Hibs are to get a couple of £6m players to bolster the squad each season, then there’s a clear benefit.

Should Foley’s investment be signed off soon, it makes sense for Hibs to focus on short term solutions to the issues in the squad. Hibs will want as much of that budget available as possible to get in better quality than we can currently afford, so any spending on permanent contracts just now will be carefully considered.

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Hibs return to face Forfar in the Scottish Cup before facing Rangers at home and Kilmarnock away in January. I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that Forfar and Killie are now in the ‘must win’ category for Hibs if we are to turn the season around.

A cup run is always welcome, having been to Hampden once this season, it would be great to get back there and have a chance to erase the memory of that defeat to Aberdeen. Kilmarnock are in and around the position that Hibs are aiming for and so that game becomes the proverbial six pointer. Hibs have drawn far too many games against the teams that we want to finish above, and so we need to start consistently taking three points in them before the season fizzles out completely.