Saturday May 17th.

I wonder if Alex Miller is having a little chuckle to himself, it would be difficult to criticise him if he is. When so-called 'fan power' led to his leaving Easter Road Hibs were in a secure mid-table position, true, the football was not exactly exhilarating but at least no-one could have imagined we would be in this predicament now. The first play-off game against Airdrie was an incredibly tense affair with quality football being noticeable by its absence. A record crowd of 15300 had Easter Road bursting at the seams and expectations of a resounding victory were high.

Alas it was not to be, the only goal of the game was gifted to us by an Airdrie player so a 1-0 lead in these circumstances is a slender advantage indeed. For the fans and the club's corporate sponsors the First Division is an unacceptable option, however, we seem to have a manager who is ideally equipped for it. Jim Duffy took Dundee down into the First Division and they never looked like coming back up while he was in charge.

He has signed a number of strictly First Division players for Hibs who, should we manage to cling on to our Premier Division status this season, will most likely consign us to the relegation dog-fight all over again. Anyway, let us look on the bright side, another game to play with the consolation being that even if Hibs were hopeless at least Airdrie were ten times worse.

Thursday May 22nd.

It's over at last and we Hibs fans can't make up our minds as to whether we should laugh or cry. Two games against a mediocre Airdrie side are now commited to history yet the manner of our victory was worrying indeed. Airdrie scored after ninety seconds to level the tie and then missed a penalty that would, arguably, have sunk Hibs had it gone in. The only 'real' goals were scored by Hibs after we were 3-1 ahead on aggregate and the Airdrie players had all but given up. It must surely be the case that relief rather than celebration is the order of the day.

So, where do we go from here? Jim Duffy has stated his intent to seek new players on the continent and has offered Saint Darren a contract that will keep him at Easter Road for a few more years. I wonder if losing Jim Leighton to Aberdeen is such a blow after all considering his erratic play over the last few games of the season. Leighton's goal kicking has been abysmal and the pass-back rule has been a nightmare for him. There were times when I was afraid to look as he charged out to kick the ball to safety (which usually meant a desperate punt over the East Terracing roof).

It is essential that the new season gets off to a brighter start for Hibs, the earlier performances of last season were shocking and seemed to culminate in the gubbing we received from Hearts. Let's hope that our best players, well, best player, can perform from day one and get us off to a flyer. Jim Duffy would not have been my choice as manager but I suppose he won't lose any sleep over that, nevertheless, I wish him and "the only team that's worth supporting" all the best for season 97/98. The only certainty is that we will not win the league but here's hoping we can at least finish above Hearts.

Yours from behind the goals.

H.I. Bees.