Hibs: It would Kil momentum if we lose this

The Easter Road side recorded their first victory in 13 attempts, in all competitions, when they put two past The Buddies without reply ten days ago. It was a vital three points and saw Hibs, who are trying to battle their way back up the SPL, leapfrog the Paisley men into third bottom of the SPL, although they have played one more game.

Over the course of the next three weekends, Hibs face Killie at Easter Road before travelling to Paisley to take on Danny Lennon's St Mirren for the second time in just a couple of weeks and then rounding off the month with a home game against Inverness.

The importance of making all three of those games count in the push up the table is not lost on midfielder Galbraith, who is also determined to repay Calderwood for the faith that he has shown in him over the past few weeks after restoring him to the starting line-up.

Galbraith said: "The win over St Mirren last week was a massive one for us but we know that it is no good to anyone unless we go out and build on that this weekend.

"It was a must-win game for us and thankfully we managed to do that but we have to follow it up and make sure that it turns out to be a really important victory.

"We've got that one out of the way now, but we all know that we have got another 13 or 14 must-win games ahead of us now if we want to get ourselves back up the league table.

"There is a freshness about the place because of the new manager coming in but I think that it has been different for him because he's come in at a time where he's had to work with all of the players from the previous manager's time.

"With the January transfer window though, he has managed to make five or six signings and I think that he is starting to stamp his mark on the side and bring in the kind of players that he wants to build his own team.

"Obviously these things all take time but you don't tend to get a lot of that in football so it's really up to us as players to make sure that we go out there and perform for him whenever we're picked.

"We were all delighted for the manager when we got the three points against St Mirren because he has been great since he came in."I know that Derek Riordan said just that after the match and I think all of the players would agree with that, we need to go out and repay the faith that he has shown in us by getting victories for him and pushing us up the table.

"He has given me opportunities and I am dying to give him something back, hopefully by putting in good performances and contributing to us pushing our way out of the position that we're in right now."

Galbraith has featured regularly for Hibs since Calderwood came into the club as manager in October last year, having spent most of the earlier part of the season on the bench or in the stand.

And the former Manchester United kid, who was also rewarded this week with a place in the Scotland Under-21s squad for their training camp in West Kilbride, is delighted to be getting more football on all fronts.

Having been through a series of injury problems over the course of the last few years, Galbraith is just keen to get as much football under his belt as possible on all fronts and he continued: "First and foremost, Hibernian take priority for me and I have just been glad to be getting more games. I feel that I have played a lot recently and, although a lot of the results haven't been brilliant for the team, it has been great for me personally.

"Obviously we managed to get a positive result last midweek against St Mirren and hopefully that is a sign that things are going to turn around for the better at Hibs as well as myself.

"When you're not in the side it is very hard to get a level of consistency in your play but thankfully I have managed to get a run of games in and hopefully people are beginning to see what I am capable of. I think that my performances have been okay so far, although I know that I can get better and the main thing for all of us is to make sure that the team is getting the right results."

He continued: "For me, I just can't get enough games. At Manchester United I had a few injury problems and I was out of the side on and off for about two years, then I came to Hibs and was kind of in and out of the side and on the bench a lot, so to have come back into the side in the last wee while has been brilliant for me and long may it continue.

"Every chance that I get to play, I just want to take it, especially when you've missed a lot of football like I have."

Assuming that Galbraith can stay in Calderwood's plans for the remainder of the season, the youngster is looking forward to working with the new faces that his manager has signed recently.

And he believes that the addition of Akpo Sodje from Charlton during the January window could be vital in increasing not only goals but also the competition for places."Akpo is certainly different to anything that we've had before, it was his first game for Hibs the other night and I thought he did well, considering he was kind of thrown in at the deep end, having just signed the day before.

"You can never really judge someone on that but, in saying that, he had a good game and played a part in the opening goal. We've also got big Nishy up front, along with Derek and Darryl Duffy, so the manager has a few options in that area right now which is a good thing for the team.

"Out of those players, no two of them are the same so there is a choice there and as long as everyone stays fit it should make for a really interesting fight for places in the starting eleven."

This weekend's game against Kilmarnock, Galbraith stressed, will be another tough task for Hibs despite the fact that the Rugby Park outfit lost one of their most lethal weapons in striker Conor Sammon during the January transfer window.

The Irishman's move to Premiership side Wigan has undoubtedly left them with a gap to fill up front, but Galbraith warned that the Ayrshire men still have plenty to offer: "He is a big player to have lost, you might have been forgiven for thinking that it would take them a few weeks to find a new way of playing but they got a good result last midweek against Motherwell.

"That shows that they will still be really dangerous and I think Mixu has got them playing some really good football. They've rightly been given a lot of credit this season because they play a good passing game and they're a good side to watch.

"We're the same, we like to play that way too, so I am sure that it will be a good game and hopefully we can get the three points like we did the last time we played at Easter Road."