Hibs verdict: Summer rebuild a nice idea but current team needs to put in complete performance at Hampden

Equally you could look at Elias Melkersen’s late chance against Dundee United last weekend, or any of the other opportunities the side has passed up since the start of the season.

As both captain Paul Hanlon and manager Shaun Maloney suggested in the aftermath of the derby defeat by Hearts, a top-six berth should have been tied up well in advance of the trip to Tynecastle.

"For a club this size and with the players we’ve got, we should be in the top six,” the skipper admits. “It should have been secured before the derby but it came down to this game and we produced a second-half performance that was nowhere near good enough.”

But clubs cannot rely on events elsewhere. It could be argued that Hibs, on balance, haven’t been consistently good enough for the top six this season.

In the Gorgie sun we saw the best and the worst of Hibs under Maloney. A goal after five minutes and relentless hassling and pressing by Hibs in the first 30 minutes gave hope to the 3,000 away fans in the Roseburn Stand.

Maloney afterwards questioned the mentality and footballing ability of his side after a meek second-half performance in which they failed to lay a glove on Hearts. Hibs could have played out of their skins and still lost 3-1. The fact they didn’t is the biggest concern.

The Easter Road boss doesn’t often go after his players but he did in the depths of the Tynecastle main stand on Saturday afternoon. He bemoaned the traits he has been trying to eradicate since his arrival that crept back into the performance in EH11.

Maloney also referenced the young age of the team and suggested that he could make changes for next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

Despite Hanlon’s long association with the club, and his status as club captain,