Hibs need one transfer deadline day recruit or they could face unthinkable Premiership miss AGAIN - Tam McManus

Deadline day could go a massive way to defining Hibs’ season. They need at least one more defender in - an experienced head you could hang your hat on - or else I see it being another year of near misses.

I’ll put it this way, signing a good, solid defender could be the difference between top six or bottom six and we all know finishing among the also-rans again is completely unacceptable. You can’t keep conceding two or three goals every week and hope to outscore the opposition. But that’s what is happening. David Gray has said as much.

Luke McCowan would be a fantastic signing. I’ve said it for a long time. But whether or not Hibs are successful with their move for the Dundee skipper there’s no doubt that bringing in a solid defender is FAR more important. The problems all lie at the back and I’m not convinced by the two new central defensive signings Marvin Ekpiteta and Warren O’Hora who have both gifted cheap goals already.

It’s why I would have kept Paul Hanlon at the club. He’s better than what Hibs have at the minute. And that says it all. Middle to front is looking good, Hibs have goals in them, which makes the problems at the other end all the more frustrating. Against Dundee at the weekend, when that elusive first Premiership win was as good as in the bag, O'Hora got caught wrong side and allowed Simon Murray to run through and equalise in the last two minutes.

That’s shocking. When you score twice at home to Dundee then you should win the game. The problems were there under Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery. They just couldn’t keep clean sheets and it’s worrying the trait is still there with the new-look central defensive partnership.

There’s three senior central defenders now on the books - O’Hora, Ekpiteta and