Football Season Guide

Neil Lennon's Hibernian enjoyed a fruitful campaign in the Scottish Championship last season, eventually winning it comfortably and securing promotion back to the top flight for the first time in four years. It was a thoroughly deserved title win for the Hibees and it allowed Lennon to create a style of play and build a settled side whilst sweeping aside everyone in the second tier. The Scottish Cup run that saw Hibs get to the semi-final before being ousted by Aberdeen also improved Lennon's stature in the eyes of Hibs fans who are beginning to feel something special is being built in Leith. The job this season won't be that of a regular side who have been promoted to the top flight. Just avoiding relegation won't be deemed good enough for Hibs supporters who feel this is very much a top six side. With the likes of John McGinn, Martin Boyle, and Efe Ambrose as key parts of the first-team, there is an extremely capable squad of players at Easter Road who should be ready to gatecrash the top six. How they compete against the likes of Celtic, Rangers, and Aberdeen will be fascinating viewing but you can expect this Hibs side to more than hold their own. Dealing with the loss of Jason Cummings' goals will be vital but Simon Murray has been brought in to do that very job. The former Dundee Utd striker is a more powerful and direct style of player than Cummings. Where Hibs have an advantage over other sides this season however is they already have a settled way of playing and have a relatively settled squad in place. This isn't great news for the many sides this season who have overhauled their playing staff. A top six place should be the target this season, although Lennon himself has stated previously he wants to aim for second which may be a little too ambitious.