Colin Calderwood looks to new recruits to bring 'harmony' to Hibs

But signing new players is the easy part. Blending them into the existing squad can take far longer - and Calderwood knows that time is not on Hibs' side as they fight to get clear of relegation trouble.

Five of the manager's acquisitions will be involved against St Mirren tonight as Hibs go in search of their first point and first goal of the year. On-loan Czech goalkeeper Jakub Divis is likely to be left out, but full-back Richie Towell, midfielders Martin Scott, Matt Thornhill and Victor Palsson, and striker Akpo Sodje will all take part in the contest which pits second- bottom Hibs against tenth-placed St Mirren.

The scale of the turnaround in the squad is a sign of the directors' trust in Calderwood, who would surely not be allowed to make so many signings if the board were planning to get rid of him. But, having rightly insisted that the squad he inherited was not up to scratch, the manager has to prove he can come up with a solution as well as being able to identify their problems.

"I'm delighted with what we've ended up with," Calderwood said yesterday ahead of the crucial match with St Mirren at Easter Road. "We've got to become a team very quickly.

"We've got to come together. With the new people coming in we've got to find harmony and cohesive football between us, and we've got to have an end product.

"We've got to be better in both boxes and that's the work we're going to do this week and right until the end of the season. If we improve in both 18-yard areas, we will be okay."

Derek Riordan is out of contract in the summer and appears set on a move away from Easter Road but, while he stays, Calderwood hopes he will form a successful partnership with Sodje, who has joined the club on an 18-month contract from Charlton Athletic.

The omission of Riordan from the defeat by Dundee United on Sunday prompted speculation that the club was prepared to offload him now, but his absence was caused by illness, according to the manager, who believes he could play a critical role in the fight to stay up.

"Derek's a player who will cause problems. We've got to get that service to him on a regular basis. We'll rely heavily on his input between now and the end of the season," said Calderwood.

"Sodje was coming out of contract in the summer and we thought he might be a good help to us. We're obviously looking for an immediate input.

"He's got a freshness about him, he's got a physicality and a real willingness to work and run in behind.I think that will add to the other types of strikers we've got."

At the other end of the pitch, Graham Stack will be in goal as Calderwood continues to rotate his keepers in a bid to decide who should be his long-term No 1. Divis, who joined from Tatran Presov, will compete for the jersey with Stack, Graeme Smith and Mark Brown, who had appeared to have cemented his place before the manager had other ideas.

"We're trying to find one (an established goalkeeper]," Calderwood added. "We've conceded goals and lost games. As harsh as it was on Mark to lose his position, because he had some good games where he kept the ball out of the net, I've also got to be fair to the rest of the team.

"It's all pre-planned, so everyone knows where they are, and it was always going to be that way. I put them in the picture four, five weeks ago and they understand."

The club's fans, traumatised already, will not be so understanding if Hibs lose this evening. The one extenuating circumstance of their bad run last month was that, of their five defeats in the SPL, three were to the top trio of clubs, Celtic, Rangers and Hearts.

Now, though, they are beginning a run of games against teams closer to their end of the table

"Any game where a victory could take you above the team above you in the league holds that extra significance," Calderwood added. "We could win a game without scoring a goal - we'd take an own goal.

"If it takes something fortunate, we'll grab that. We're in a dogfight, so we've got to beat them."