Hibs pounce for Victor Palsson as Colin Calderwood adds more steel to midfield

HIBERNIAN have yet to score a goal this year, and have not kept a clean sheet for two months. Giving those failings up front and at the back, it seems counterintuitive that Colin Calderwood has concentrated on strengthening his midfield this month, but there is sense behind the manager's transfer-window machinations.

Hibs' strikers are hardly world-beaters, but it is not as if they have been spurning chance after chance in matches. Similarly, although the defence have often been the agents of their own downfall, they have at times been overrun due to a lack of support from the centre of the park. Calderwood has therefore decided that, if he can make his midfield more physically competitive, he will at least have gone part of the way to solving his problems at either end of the park.

Having already signed Matt Thornhill and Martin Scott from Nottingham Forest and Ross County respectively, the Hibs manager yesterday added teenage Icelander Victor Palsson, who has joined from Liverpool. Richie Towell, who made his debut at right-back on Wednesday after joining on loan from Celtic, is equally at home in midfield.

Towell, Scott and Palsson are expected to start tomorrow's match at Tannadice, while Thornhill, who had a slight ankle injury when he arrived at Easter Road, could get a place on the bench if passed fit. All four fit the bill as tough and tenacious players who will not give up a contest as readily as some of their new team-mates have done in recent weeks.

Palsson in particular is a highly promising addition to the squad. After completing the signing of an 18-month contract, he explained he had needed little persuasion to make the move from Merseyside. "I played for Iceland under-21s against Scotland at Easter Road a few months ago and I was really impressed with the atmosphere," he said. "It is a special stadium. As soon as I was aware of Hibernian's interest, I was really keen to join the club and to work with the manager; it is a really exciting move for me.

"I believe the Scottish league will suit my way of playing. Edinburgh is a great city and everything about the move indicates it is the right decision for me." Calderwood added: "Victor is a young player with terrific potential and a player who has been on our radar for a long time. He has got a great pedigree and we are pleased to be able to bring him to the football club."

While those four have come in, a very different type of midfielder, Merouane Zemmama, was on the verge of leaving for Middlesbrough.

The Moroccan playmaker is out of contract in the summer, and Boro manager Tony Mowbray is keen to be reunited with a player whom he signed for Hibs in 2006. Although Zemmama is one of the most technically able players at the club, he has never been the type to dig in when the going gets tough. It was notable, for example, that Calderwood omitted him from the roughhouse of the New Year derby at Tynecastle, despite the inspiring role he had played just days earlier in Hibs' draw with Dundee United.That 2-2 draw, which was the last time Hibs scored a goal and earned a league point, was Zemmama's comeback from a long-term injury. A month on, the 27-year-old is far closer to full match fitness but, with Hibs still in a relegation scrap, the manager has decided he is surplus to requirements.

"They have spoken to him and the negotiations are ongoing at the moment," Calderwood said of Middlesbrough. "We understand they are at a point where they are close to a pre-contract agreement."

If the English club and Zemmama reach that point, Hibs will then seek a fee for the player, acknowledging that there is little point in keeping him against his will. "I think they are quite keen to implement something now and I think the player is as well," Calderwood continued. "We need to know if he has actually agreed a contract.

"Once we get to that point it is just a discussion between him and me, really. Then we'll get a feeling."

Palsson, now 19, joined Liverpool two years ago and is primarily a defensive midfielder. "He'll add a physical presence and a bit of aggression," Calderwood said of the player. "He is very mature for a 19-year-old and he has played a little bit of league football.

"The people I have spoken to and who have seen him play tell me he handled that terrifically well. So I think he'll slot in. He looks as if he has a very strong mentality and I am very positive he will make a long contribution to this club."

The signing of Palsson and the departure of Zemmama may not be the last movement at Hibs before the window closes. Calderwood is keen to make one more addition to his squad, while two or three more could be on the way out, with centre-half Chris Hogg the most likely to leave. Towell had a traumatic debut on Wednesday, gifting Rangers their second goal in a 2-0 win for the champions, but he recovered well and is looking forward to getting an extended run in the first team. "I've come to Hibs at a time when the team is under pressure, but I don't mind that," he said.

"The manager said to me I can be part of something good now, to turn it round and help Hibs back up the table. I was really surprised to see Hibs so far down the table when you look at the quality of the players they have here, but hopefully things will improve now. Hopefully I can do my best for Hibs and if Neil Lennon sees good things in me then I hope I will feature in his plans when I go back to Celtic.I think this pressure here will help me and build my character so that I know how to handle pressure when I go back to Celtic."

If all of his players found the threat of relegation character-building, Calderwood may not have had to move into the transfer market at all. Now, having done so four times, he is significantly closer to fielding the kind of team he thinks is required for Hibs to start moving up the table at last.