The curious case of forgotten Hibs winger Dan Mackay

There were 19 players out on loan at other clubs last season, and it stands to reason that the overhaul looming on the horizon will not be done and dusted in the space of one transfer window. The recruitment that has led to this situation has come under serious scrutiny from supporters, with the extended squad list at Easter Road being a by-product of the all too frequent hiring and firing of managers over the last few seasons.

There are players signed across the tenures of Paul Heckingbottom, Jack Ross, Lee Johnson, and Nick Montgomery - with Shaun Maloney also occupying the dugout briefly throughout that time. It was a point made frequently by Montgomery, especially during the latter weeks of his time in office, emphasising that it would take time to recalibrate the squad balance.

That process will start this summer, and calls into question the future of several players. Looking across the board, there aren't too many who immediately jump out as potentially moving back into first-team contention, but there are a few curious cases.

Dan Mackay appeared a good fit for Hibs when joined on a four-year deal in May 2021 - a young, up and coming Scottish talent who had made his senior debut for Inverness Caledonian Thistle aged just 16. In many ways, it was the type of signing many Hibs fans would like to see the club make more often, instead of shopping in far-flung markets. 

But Mackay's Hibs career has, well, been spent mostly away from Easter Road. His first loan move was to Kilmarnock in January 2022 after recovering from ankle injury that basically wiped out his first few months at Hibs. Ahead of the 2022/23 season, Johnson categorised the winger as being ahead of the development squad but not quite ready to feature in his first team, and he was sent back to Inverness for the entire campaign, rounding it off by scoring against Celtic in the Scottish Cup final as his side went down 3-1.

With Johnson still in-situ for the start of 2023/24, Mackay was again shipped out, this time to Livingston in the Premiership. A cursory glance at Hibs' announcement of the move reveals a not-inconsiderable level of surprise that he was not, at least, being given a chance to show what he could do.

Being an attacking player in, by some distance, the poorest team in the league last season is perhaps not the best environment to judge a player, with Mackay registering three goals and two assists as Livingston finished rock bottom of the league. Coming back to Hibs this summer with just one year remaining on his contract, it's very much now or never if he's ever going to make an impact at Easter Road.

But is it a realistic prospect?

If Hibs are to refocus their efforts on recruiting Scottish talent, then it wouldn't be out of the question, given that Mackay has never really been afforded an extended chance to prove himself. His StatsBomb numbers from last season seem reflective of playing in a side that created very little, although he did finish the campaign in the upper percentiles for xG assisted, and open play xG assisted - a measure of chance creation. In these areas, he was comparable to the likes of Martin Boyle, and comfortably above the league average.

Whether that will be enough to make a case for a last Hibs chance is up for debate, and likely an outside prospect. Nobody is expecting him to be able to replace Myziane Maolida or, if he indeed departs this summer, Elie Youan, but one thing Hibs did not have enough of last season was squad options who could make a telling contribution. Would Mackay have made more an impact than Eliezer Mayenda, for example? To call the Sunderland loanee a peripheral figure across the second half of the season would be putting it mildly.

Montgomery often found his substitutions being criticised but there was some mitigation around the distinct lack of options at his disposal for significant chunks of the season, with debuts handed to academy prospects in attacking areas which often felt more out of necessity than anything else.

READ MORE: Hibs transfer talk on Elie Youan's future and Josh Doig to Roma

There's an argument that there could be scope for players returning from loan to prove that they, at least, can contribute enough to merit being kept around. Of course, there could be decisions made on players' futures before pre-season even begins to keep squad numbers manageable for a new boss, but there is always an element of 'clean slate' when a new man arrives in the dugout that can throw up some unexpected outcomes.

For a player for whom hopes were high when he was signed, it would be a disappointment to see Mackay finally depart Hibs without having made any tangible impact, but time is certainly running out. That he is not the only player in this situation speaks to the very hit-and-miss nature of Hibs' recruitment over the last few years. You could easily apply all this to Ewan Henderson or numerous others over the last few years, and it's a trend that the new football structure will surely seek to reverse.

It's set to be a pivotal summer in that regard, and for the individuals vying to resurrect their Hibs careers, of which Mackay is certainly one.