Football Season Guide

Paul Heckingbottom did tremendously well to haul Hibernian up to a fifth-place finish and ahead of Edinburgh rivals Hearts last season. This came after Neil Lennon's early-season struggles had them as low as eighth before departing unceremoniously in January. Heckingbottom will look to cement his style heading into the new season. He's wasted no time in adding two impressive-looking striking options in Joe Newell and Christian Doidge respectively. The loss of Jamie MacLaren hasn't been too big a miss and, with Florian Kamberi still at the club, Hibs look fierce going forward this term. Marvin Bartley and Mark Milligan's departures were eye-catching, but Scott Allan's arrival from Celtic provides Hibs with real cutting edge in the midfield. A partnership between himself and new signing Josh Vela could be one to watch. Heckingbottom, however, is well stocked for options in the midfield heading into the new season too. One big weakness for Hibs continues to be their full-back areas. Too often last season they were caught out by cross-balls, with the likes of Lewis Stevenson and David Gray struggling for pace against the league's better wingers. Tom James has been brought in from Yeovil to rival Gray, whilst Sean Mackie will continue to provide cover for Stevenson. But Hibs once again look a real force going forward ahead of the new season. Their strikers are firing nicely ahead of the domestic action, whilst Allan has settled right into his old number 10 role. Even this early, it looks like a real exciting season for Heckingbottom's side.