Fear of the drop has fired Hibs up

If John Hughes' team didn't carry enough firepower as it was to shoot down lowly Montrose, the Easter Road boss had plenty in reserve, Moroccan internationalists Merouane Zemmama and Abdessalam Benjelloun along with new signing Alan Gow, pictured below.

And as if to emphasise the point, both Benji and Gow stepped off the bench to claim a goal apiece as the Hibees marched into the last eight of the Active Nation Scottish Cup with a 5-1 hammering of the Gable Endies.

Those goals made it 14 in just four games for the Edinburgh outfit, the delight for Hughes being that it's not just top scorers Anthony Stokes and Derek Riordan, now with 25 between them, who are making the headlines.

Nish himself got the opening two in that five-goal salvo against the Third Division's bottom side, but over the course of a four-match winning streak Liam Miller and Danny Galbraith – with that memorable last-gasp strike at Celtic Park – have also got in on the act.

In fact, nine different players have found the net this season as Hibs close in on the half-century mark in all competitions, helped along with a couple of own goals.

Pointing out that despite his heroics against Celtic, 19-year-old Galbraith wasn't even listed among the substitutes at the weekend – nor were Patrick Cregg, Sol Bamba, Steven Thicot, Darren McCormack and Kurtis Byrne – Nish said: "I looked at the players on the bench on Saturday and thought that shows the strength of squad we have.

"You think it's hard enough to get a game as a striker then the gaffer goes and signs another one in Alan Gow to make the competition even harder.

"I'm sure a lot of SPL managers will be looking enviously at what we have up front.

"It's great to have so much competition. Sometimes if you know you are going to play every week then that little bit of complacency can set in.

"But there's not much chance of that happening here because the gaffer has so much firepower. You know that even a poor 20-minute spell in a game could see you sitting out the next match."

Competition for places isn't confined, however, to the frontline, Nish joking that it's perhaps easier to get a game as a striker than a goalkeeper at present at Easter Road, a reference to the fight Graeme Smith, Graham Stack, Mark Brown and Yves Ma-Kalambay face to don the gloves each week.

It may have been said in jest, but it is a point worth making, Nish adding: "The great thing is we have a squad of players who are ready to play every week, not just a squad with some guys who aren't likely to feature.

"The manager has to take full credit for assembling such a pool of players. We've got a fight up-front for a place each week but it's the same all over the pitch and now the goalkeepers are very much in the same situation."

Nish's double against Montrose took his own goals tally for the season to five, but although he trails both Stokes and Riordan by some way, the former Dunfermline and Kilmarnock hitman insisted he's in no way concerned at being perceived as playing in their shadows.

He said: "I don't see it that way, everyone is different, everyone has his own qualities. I'm quite happy if others are getting a bit of write-up because they are scoring goals for us.

"Of course I like to score, but it honestly doesn't bother me one little bit who does as long as we win and, I think, it's often harder to set up a goal than score one."

Nish has found his role subtly changed in recent weeks, no longer seen as an out-and-out target man but a centre-forward who is more than willing to drop off the front and link play.

He admitted he's still adapting to his new capacity but it's one he insisted he's thoroughly enjoying, believing the scope he has to make late runs into the penalty area will pay off in terms of goals.

The 28-year-old said: "Being in the position to make a run into the box rather than being in there standing still can give you that bit of space.

"I had a few efforts against St Mirren the week before, hitting the post with one, but didn't manage to score although, again, the main thing was we got the three points so I was obviously delighted to get a couple in the Cup game.

"When I was at Killie I used to drop off the front but it is still a role in which I have a bit to learn but the manager and Brian Rice are talking me through games and it's one I'm enjoying."

Although he grabbed two against Montrose, Nish admitted he should have had a hat-trick, a casual finish after Ian Murray had knocked the ball across goal to him after Andy McNeil had pulled off yet another terrific save allowing the former Hibs goalkeeper to push his effort aside.

Nish joked: "It would have been nice, I'll just have to wait for the next round."

A hat-trick in the quarter-finals would undoubtedly enhance Hibs' hopes of making further progress with some even tipping Hughes' team to go on and end the club's 108-year Scottish Cup hoodoo.

All eyes will be on tomorrow's lunchtime draw and although Hibs know they'll face much tougher opposition than they have thus far, a 3-0 win over Ayrshire Junior side Irvine Meadow having preceded the win against Montrose, Nish insisted that with a visit from Aberdeen following only a few hours later, it will receive little more than a cursory glance.

He said: "We've had two good draws at home and I know a lot of people are talking about this being our year. I would be delighted if it were to be but who can say?

"We have to keep working hard in every match. We'll see who we get tomorrow but the most immediate concern is the match with Aberdeen. We've made it four wins on the bounce, we are full of confidence and hopefully we can make it five in a row."