It is only a matter of time before an opponent is on the wrong end of a ‘wow’ performance by Hibs.

That is the unequivocal view of Wednesday night’s makeshift striker, Josh Campbell. Since Nick Montgomery arrived, the 23-year-old midfielder’s involvement had been restricted to four late cameos. But with Christian Doidge and Adam Le Fondre sidelined and the manager reluctant to risk naming Martin Boyle as more than a substitute after the Australian international was forced to bring his semi-final involvement to an premature end at the weekend, Campbell was given an unexpected first start under the former A-League boss.

A player used to operating in an advanced position, tucked in behind the frontline, he scored nine goals last term and, this season, had already weighed in with three prior to Wednesday’s trip to St Mirren. Offering a more physical presence, and busying himself as one of the two-man strikeforce, pressing high, and applying early pressure, he not only opened the scoring, he also freed up space for his classy partner Dylan Vente, allowing him to pull strings and make runs that troubled the Buddies’ rearguard.

Josh Campbell scored on his return to the Hibs starting XI and feels it could soon all click for the Hibees in front of goal.

But despite taking the lead twice, against the team sitting third in the Premiership, they were pegged back twice and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Given respective fortunes and results this term, that may not have seemed a negative outcome prior to the match but in the context of the performance and assessed as part of a seven-game winless run, there was disappointment at the final whistle.

“It’s two points dropped for us,” said Campbell, who articulated the frustration that is beginning to fester in the dressing room as they find themselves squandering leads, passing up scoring chances and making the kind of silly individual errors that are punished. Add to that VAR decisions that have tested their patience and resolve.

It was the case on the very first outing for Montgomery, against this Saturday’s opponents Kilmarnock, at Rugby Park in September. That day they took a 2-0 lead but were reeled in and had to settle for a share of the points. There have since been five further draws in the manager’s ten games at the helm and the dropped points have seen them stuck on the bottom half of the table, albeit just four points off fourth in a hugely congested top flight.

Give a watching brief throughout most of those encounters Campbell does believe they are not too far from clicking. In Paisley, despite some first0choice picks being missing, there were some delightful attacking passages of play, passing link-ups and expertly threaded balls forward as the attacks flowed against one of the best sides in the country this term and a team notoriously well-drilled and organised.

Elie Youan and Jair Tavares celebrate Joe Newell's goal against the Buddies.

“I think it’s just decision-making and knowing when to dribble the ball, when to pass it, what to do in certain areas,” said Campbell. “It’s about knowing when to clear your lines and get up the pitch. So, it is decision making, that’s all it is. We feel we are playing well every week but every week we are just a wee bit away from getting all three points. It’s a bit of a downer but there are big characters in that changing room, players who know how to win, so we believe it will be alright on Saturday.”

There are still defensive frailties and until Montgomery has the chance to address those deficiencies in the January transfer window – with a more trustworthy centre-back pairing and goalkeeper required – it will be difficult. In the meantime the Leith gaffer said that if scoring two goals was not going to be enough to secure a win in games, Hibs would simply need to start netting at least three in every game. He added that they were capable of doing that.

Everything Campbell has seen at training and on match day leads him to agree and he offered an ominous warning to rival teams that he expects the draws to soon be replaced by more emphatic results. “100 per cent! Everyone says that through there in the changing room. We all feel that one day it will click and it will be really good from us. We feel, as a team, that there is going to be a performance that has that wow factor and we are going to blow everyone away. It is coming.”

And, Campbell just hopes he can be part of it as he works to remould himself into the kind of player who fits into Montgomery’s 4-4-2. “I have just been biding my time,” he said. “I have not been in the plans but the team has been doing well and playing with a new philosophy and maybe I don't fit into that at times. That’s fine but I have just been working away behind the scenes with the coaches and then the gaffer gave me this opportunity and I think I did alright.

Hibs have only won twice under Nick Montgomery since he took over in September.

“It is part of training, little one to ones, little conversations, and the drills that we do are sometimes based around an attacking midfielder playing as a striker and getting into the box. That goal was part of what we’ve worked on at the training ground. Football is a mental sport and you have got to find ways to get better at things. [Missing out] can be frustrating but he is a good manager and he speaks really well. He has been great with me, telling me what I need to work on. We have been doing that in training and I showed that on Wednesday night, scoring one of the goals.”

'Wow': Hibs fire ominous warning to rest of league but major deficiencies won't be addressed until January