Tony Mowbray in move to take Merouane Zemmama to Riverside

MEROUANE Zemmama could have played his last game for Hibernian after Middlesbrough, managed by former Easter Road manager Tony Mowbray, made a formal bid for the midfielder.

Initial reports from the north-east of England suggested that Mowbray wanted to take the Moroccan on loan until the end of the season, when his contract with Hibs expires.

That would allow Boro to give the player an extended trial before deciding whether they wanted to offer him a contract, but there would be nothing in it for Hibs bar the deduction of a wage from the bill, and it is now more likely that the Championship strugglers will have to pay a six-figure sum if they want the 27-year-old.

Hibs manager Colin Calderwood has strengthened his midfield with two signings this month, Matt Thornhill from Nottingham Forest and Martin Scott from Ross County. Neither has Zemmama's playmaking ability, but both have a greater physical presence - a quality which Hibs badly need in the middle of the park at present.

Zemmama only returned from a cruciate injury in December after nine months on the sidelines. He came on at the start of the second half in the home game against Dundee United, and helped spark a comeback in which Hibs recovered from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw.

Since then, however, he has done very little. Rightly omitted from the team for the Edinburgh derby, in which Hibs were far more competitive physically than they had been for some time, he made his first start of the season a week later in the Scottish Cup tie against Ayr. Hibs drew that match then lost the replay, and have also lost all three of their league games following the derby.

Capped seven times by Morocco, Zemmama joined Hibs in 2006, when Mowbray was manager. Upon learning that his pregnant wife would not be allowed to enter the UK as she was only 17, he left in September 2008 on a season-long loan to United Arab Emirates club Al-Shaab. He returned for the start of last season, but his appearances were curtailed by minor injuries before the cruciate damage brought a premature end to his season.

With Sol Bamba already having left Easter Road for England this month, and 14 others besides Zemmama out of contract in the summer, Calderwood is prepared for a substantial overhaul of the playing squad.

Meanwhile, Paul Hanlon echoed the comments coming out of Easter Road in recent weeks, that the squad know full well they are in a relegation struggle but firmly believe it is a battle they will win.

Speaking in the wake of Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to Rangers, Hanlon said: "All the lads are aware of the position we're in - we need to fight for every point. We now have a big game against Dundee United on Sunday and we'll go to Tannadice first and foremost looking for a clean sheet and take it from there.

"The manager has come in and done his best. He's tried various formations but we're just not getting results at the moment and that's frustrating for him.

"He's come in for a lot of criticism but most of that should come to us because we're the ones out on the pitch every week."