Players are behind Colin Calderwood, says Ian Murray as he sets sights on top six

Calderwood was linked with vacant assistant managerial posts at Nottingham Forest and Birmingham over the summer, but has remained at Easter Road, where he has been since October.

Murray said: "We all want the gaffer to stay. Hopefully the fans do as well. The board and directors certainly do - if reports are true they knocked back bids for him, it's a lot of money teams are willing to pay.

"His pedigree is there for all to see and other teams want him which is a compliment to himself and to Hibs."

Forest have since appointed an assistant to Steve McClaren, but Chris Hughton - the current Birmingham boss who Calderwood worked alongside at Newcastle - remains without a number two.

The subject of Calderwood's potential departure was never broached among the players, according to Murray. He said: "We just got on with it. If he wasn't here, he wasn't here. If he is, he is - it was as simple as that. It's part and parcel of the game. If the manager wanted to go down south then it's his prerogative. Talk of him leaving is non-existent in the changing room and at team meetings."

Murray is emphasising the positive at Easter Road - saying it could be worse. Hibs lost 4-1 at Kilmarnock last week and have now won one and lost two of their league fixtures ahead of today's match with St Mirren.

Calderwood's side struggled for consistency last term as they finished tenth in the SPL, and many performances last season were met with derision from supporters. But of this season, Murray said: "We've got points on the board, that's the main thing. There are a couple of teams in the league who haven't scored a goal yet, so things could be a lot worse.

"There's always a team somewhere who's struggling. I don't think we're struggling because we've got three points on the board. We're not in a bad position, win our game in hand on teams and we'll be up to fourth."

The target for the season is a top-six place by the SPL split, with Murray and the squad aware of the wider ramifications of poor on-field displays. He added: "(Last season] we went into the bottom six, top of the bottom six. To fall away at the end of the season was disappointing. It cost the club a lot of money and we've had to cut back like everyone else.

"There's been a few people that have lost their jobs and ultimately it's because we didn't finish in the top six."

Meanwhile, St Mirren have confirmed the signing of former Netherlands Under-19 defender Ilias Haddad. The 22-year-old had been on trial this week and the centre-back, who played with Saints left-back Jeroen Tesselaar at AZ Alkmaar and Telstar, is in line to make his debut in Edinburgh this afternoon after Darren McGregor suffered cruciate ligament damage against Dundee United earlier this month.