It’s usually an uphill battle any time we face Celtic; their squad is miles ahead of anyone else in the league and while they are susceptible to the odd shock now and again, it feels like those are few and far between compared to seasons gone by.

Despite that, last season we managed a respectable 0-0 at Easter Road and later lost by the narrowest of margins as we went down 2-1at home, largely down to a refereeing team that were intent on scrutinising any possible infringement on the champions whilst steadfastly refusing to spend any time on our claims.

That win was Brendan Rodgers’ first as Celtic manager at Easter Road across his two spells in charge at Celtic. Despite the disparity between the sides, the result was far from a foregone conclusion as the teams stepped out onto the pitch in the Leith sunshine at lunchtime on Sunday.

The optimism that we might take something from the game had evaporated inside three minutes, with Hibs’ tendency to switch off at inopportune moments costing us dearly. A ball over the top found Kyogo Furuhashi and his low shot was palmed away by Joe Bursik in the Hibs goal, where it was met by James Forrest, who beat any Hibs defender to the ball and squared it to Nicolas Kuhn for a tap-in at the back post.

A review of the goal shows Lewis Miller was caught ball-watching, his slowness to react to the rebound matched only by Jordan Obita’s reaction to Kuhn’s run. Neither full-back covered themselves in glory and after drawing criticism for not showing the desire to sprint back to defend the goal last week in Paisley, it’s frustrating to say the least that we showed that same negligence against the best team in the league.

Celtic doubled their lead shortly afterwards when Callum McGregor rifled in a shot from distance that Bursik had little chance of stopping. David Gray will be left scratching that legendary head of his as to how one the finest midfielders in the country was allowed to collect the ball, measure up the shot, check the scores from the other matches, get a coffee, and count the Easter Road seagulls before cracking the ball into the net.

Where was the Hibs midfield at this point? It was a question that could have been asked for the entire first half, and large parts of the second period. Joe Newell, Josh Campbell, and Dylan Levitt are yet to demonstrate that they are an effective combination in the middle of the park for Hibs. Swap out any of the three for the likes of Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Luke Amos, or the lesser-spotted Jake Doyle-Hayes, and it makes little difference.

The lack of substance in that midfield area has the potential to derail any designs David Gray has on a top-six finish, with some fans questioning whether or not we risk our top-flight status if we persevere with them.

You can go back to Jack Ross’ tenure at the club to find fans pointing out the issues of that midfield, and the fact that many managers and players have come and gone since Jack Ross departed the club and we are still reliant on them is a damning indictment on the recruitment at the club in those years.

It’s a worry that neither Moriah-Welsh or Luke Amos can be considered starters in the midfield. Both signed in the January window last season and neither have displaced the old guard consistently. That does not speak to effective recruitment and shows more of the ‘good money after bad’ approach to signings that has characterised life at Hibs under Ben Kensell’s tenure as CEO.

Kensell, to his credit, has brought in Malky Mackay to address this situation after his last attempt at fixing things, Brian McDermott, left without making much impact at the club at all. Whether Malky has what it takes to improve the squad remains to be seen. It’s encouraging that we are making moves to sign Dundee’s Luke McCowan. From what I’ve seen he has exactly the tenacity and determination to impact games that is lacking from the side just now, and Hibs should be doing all they can to secure his signature.

Despite the defeat, I didn’t leave Easter Road as frustrated as I thought I would. It helped that it wasn’t a romp for Celtic: a 2-0 defeat, while unwelcome, is more palatable than some of the scorelines we’ve suffered against Celtic in recent times.

Kieron Bowie’s short cameo was cause for optimism as well, the young forward relished the challenge of going up against Cameron Carter-Vickers and was unlucky with an audacious attempt from a tight angle that rattled the crossbar as the game drew to a close.

Hibs’ second-half performance was a step up from the first but was still some way short of expectations. As with last season, getting a ninety-minute showing out of this team seems to be an unsolvable puzzle for successive head coaches, but the biggest conundrum facing Malky Mackay and David Gray right now is what to do with a midfield that is found wanting at this level time after time.

More immediately, Gray needs to take the lessons learned from Sunday’s defeat to help formulate a plan to upset Celtic in Glasgow on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup. He will certainly look for more bravery on the ball from his players, and will be hammering home the need to stay alert throughout the game to avoid giving away the sloppy goals that we have conceded so far this season.

It's a really tough start to the season for Gray. He needs time and backing to get the team playing the way he wants, and nobody should be judging him for results against a rampant Celtic side levels above anyone else in Scotland.