Beefing up engine room will stop Hibs being pushovers

PAT STANTON believes that Colin Calderwood has given Hibs a fighting chance of pulling away from the relegation zone, by adding more muscle to his midfield.

The Hibs manager has beefed up his options in the centre of the park with the signings of Victor Palsson, Matt Thornhill and Martin "Jimmy" Scott.

He's also strengthened his attack, defence and goalkeeping pools with Akpo Sodje, Richie Towell and Jakub Divis all putting pen to paper during the January transfer window, the latter duo agreeing loan deals until the end of the season.

And Stanton, below in his heyday, reckons that Calderwood has proved himself to have a shrewd eye when it comes to adding exactly what the team need.

"It's a bit of an understatement to say that Colin Calderwood has had a difficult job since he came into the club. He's got his own ideas, he was a hard player himself. I felt that there were other parts of the team that were on the soft side and I think that he has seen that as well.

"He's inherited a decent squad and I think now he just wants to make it his own and add that level of physicality to it.

"I think that we were being muscled out of games in the middle of the park at the beginning of the season. We were maybe playing nice enough football but getting brushed aside at the same time.

"From what we have seen in the last couple of weeks, and from the type of players that Calderwood has signed, he wants to see a bit more determination, particularly in midfield.

"On Wednesday night against St Mirren there was a lot of pressure on the boys but I thought that they handled it well and I have to say I was very impressed with the young boy Palsson.

"He had a couple of really good tackles early on and when you do that it sets out the tone for the whole game.

"If you go in with a strong, confident challenge in the opening stages, everyone sees it, the crowd and the oppositions players and they know that you are not going to take anything lying down.

"Thornhill did the same as well and managed to put in a few good tackles that set out his stall for the rest of the match."

And it's not only the new additions in the middle of the park who have caught Stanton's eye, with Towell and Sodje also coming in for praise from the Easter Road legend.

Towell was brought in from Celtic until the end of the season and seems to be a popular choice among the supporters who saw him in action against both Rangers and The Buddies, however Stanton believes that the players should all be allowed a decent settling-in period before anyone makes judgment on them, adding: "One of the boys who I have been quite impressed with is the wee right back, Richie Towell. I think he looks to be quite a confident young player and he's showed some nice touches. He made a bit of a mistake in the game against Rangers but I don't think you could really fault him the rest of the time.

"Sodje also seems to have a bit of presence about him. If he is up there using his physique to get himself some space from the defenders and knock balls down, then that makes it easier for Riordan to creep in at his back and feed off of him, which could turn out to be very fruitful for Hibs.

"They all seem to be settling in fine but I think that it is probably still too early to judge them properly. New players always come and go, you see them maybe having their first two or three games and playing really well, then they maybe fade away a bit and you can start to see why they were maybe not getting a game where they were.

"Before you make a real judgment you have to give them games and hopefully these boys will all get their chance in the side. One or two of the players who have come in from other clubs have not been playing regular football so they still need to work on their match fitness and sharpness, a few of them looked a bit tired but once they get an extended run I am sure there will be a big improvement in their stamina.

"All the signs so far are good but you have got to have give these boys a chance to gel with everyone first."

Stanton believes that the addition of the six new faces - and prospect of more arriving in the shape of free agents in the coming days - will also serve to give the players who have dropped out of the side as a result, a timely reminder.

"The opportunities are there for the guys who are out of the team right now. Nothing keeps a player on his toes more than someone in the background coming in at your expense or waiting to take your place.

"If players have got any pride, the biggest thing that hurts is sitting on the bench not getting a game. That makes you even more determined to get back."