HIBERNIAN
IN: Christian Doidge (Forest Green Rovers), Tom James (Yeovil Town), Joe Newell (Rotherham United), Adam Jackson (Barnsley), Scott Allan (Celtic), Josh Doig (St Johnstone), Josh Vela (Bolton), Chris Maxwell (loan; Preston North End).
OUT: Mark Milligan (Southend United), Marvin Bartley (Livingston), Ross Laidlaw (Ross County), Kane O’Connor (Brentford), Miquel Nelom, Gael Bigirimana, Jonathan Spector, Callum Donaldson, Kevin Waugh, Lewis Allan, Ruari Paton.
KEY MAN: STEVIE MALLAN. Mallan had a very successful debut season at the club, with 13 goals and 11 assists and will be one of the first names on the teamsheet every week.
KEY ADDITION: CHRISTIAN DOIDGE. The former Forest Green Rovers man was hailed as a ‘statement of intent’ by manager Paul Heckingbottom and will provide competition and/or support for Florian Kamberi at the top end of the park.
LIFE under Paul Heckingbottom was so sweet for Hibs towards the end of last season. After taking over in February, the Easter Road boss embarked on a ten-game unbeaten league run before three consecutive losses to end the campaign. With the signs at Kilmarnock suggesting they won’t be in the mix for a European spot again this season, Hibs will have high hopes of challenging the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts for fourth — and indeed third — place this term. The Leith side also have an array of options for several positions, so it would be no surprise to see them give more game time to some fringe players in the cup competitions. It is the cups which have been a bit disappointing for Hibs since winning the Scottish Cup three years ago. They reached the last eight in both competitions last term, but have made just two semis since that win in 2016, and a trip to a Hampden showpiece event would make a lot of Hibs fans happy.