After SPL survival will come clearout for Colin Calderwood

IF HIBERNIAN play in the coming months with the application and organisation they showed in the Edinburgh derby, that should be more than enough to steer them clear of any relegation worries. But, while the current squad look capable of that modest achievement, any more substantial success seems beyond them.

• Ian Murray is still a valuable player for Hibs, but many others could be on their way out

Colin Calderwood has been the Hibs manager for less than three months, but it probably took him less than three weeks to realise a thorough overhaul of the playing staff would be required if he was to achieve anything greater than survival. He does, of course, have the Scottish Cup as a welcome distraction, starting against Ayr at Easter Road on Saturday.

With 15 players out of contract in the summer - a 16th, Sol Bamba, left for Leicester City this week - Calderwood has the ideal opportunity to conduct that overhaul in time for next season. Indeed, while the potential to lose such a large number of players at one go would be a worry to some managers, the Hibs boss would surely rather see more players, not fewer, coming to the end of their present deal.

Michael Hart and Edwin de Graaf, for example, will still be in contract, but neither player has looked convincing since moving to Easter Road last summer. If those two were to attract bidders this month or during the next transfer window, it is hard to see Calderwood standing in their way.

Of the others whose contracts take in next season, several should remain valuable members of the squad. Goalkeeper Mark Brown, for example, has played to a reasonable standard in most of his games, and is likely to reach a higher level of consistency if and when he gets a run of games with the same back four.

David Wotherspoon, who turns 21 in the middle of the month, remains the squad member with most potential. Paul Hanlon, who is just two days younger, has been less convincing this season, but has at least shown enough promise to merit remaining part of the manager's plans. At the other end of the experience range, current captain Ian Murray is not the player he was, partly because of a succession of injuries. But his commitment to the cause is undiminished, his physical strength is a quality in short supply at Easter Road at the moment, and his versatility also makes him a valuable player. He, too, has done enough to be part of Hibs' future under Calderwood.

The same cannot be said of many who will be out of contract, although that may change in the case of two players who have just come back from injury - Darryl Duffy and Merouane Zemmama. Duffy is on a season-long loan from Bristol Rovers, where his deal expires in the summer.The New Year's Day derby was the striker's first start for Hibs, and he made them look far more incisive and quick-witted.

Zemmama was rightly left on the bench during a game at Tynecastle which would have been too ferociously competitive for him, but was almost as impressive as Duffy when he made his comeback against Dundee United three days earlier. The mercurial Moroccan can be infuriatingly inconsistent, but, on his day, has the ability to unpick a defence with greater subtlety than most SPL playmakers. Calderwood must decide whether that day comes round often enough to warrant offering Zemmama a new deal. Those two are effectively new players for Hibs, as are the three youngsters who have just returned from loan spells in the lower leagues - Callum Booth, Kurtis Byrne and Scott Taggart. All three are unlikely to feature in the first team together while even a slender threat of relegation remains but, if they come good over the next few months, they will strengthen Calderwood's apparent conviction that there are few older hands who are worth keeping.

A large majority of Hibs fans would probably want to keep Derek Riordan at the club, but the manager has said he is in no rush to offer the striker a new deal. That attitude stems not from callousness, but from a recognition that Riordan may attract a far more lucrative offer than Hibs could match. If such an offer does not materialise, Hibs might then try to find out if they can reach agreement with the player.

An on-form Riordan is an obvious asset to the club, and the same would go for Liam Miller. But the Irishman has not really been on form for some time, and may have to hit a purple patch if he is to persuade Hibs to offer him a new deal. Miller is lucky in that regard, as he has quite a few colleagues who could do next to nothing, on the field of play or off it, to convince Calderwood they should be part of his plans.

They have already been found wanting, both this season and over the second half of last, and have to be included in what will surely be the biggest clearout in the SPL this summer.