By Colin Moffat

A lot is expected of new goalkeeper Yves Makaba-Makalamby

John Collins has not been in the Hibernian hot-seat for long but he's already packed a lot into his short tenure.

Just five months into his first job in management, Collins ended the club's 16-year wait for a trophy with a glorious victory in March's CIS Cup final.

And, within a few weeks of that success, Collins had to deal with the fallout when a delegation of players complained about his methods to chairman, Rod Petrie.

The revolt was quickly quashed and Collins has been busy with a major overhaul of his squad ahead of the new campaign.

His predecessor, Tony Mowbray, won plaudits for introducing a fast-flowing style of attacking football to Easter Road and Collins has adopted a similar philosophy, with the emphasis on slick passing and a high-tempo.

When Hibs are on song they are a joy to behold.

However, they have been wildly inconsistent and a disappointing sixth-place finish last term was down, in the main, to some calamitous defending.

Collins has brought in several new faces and perhaps the most important of those is goalkeeper Yves Makaba-Makalamby.

Hibs have been dogged by troubles in that area, with Zbigniew Malkowski, Simon Brown and Andrew McNeil all guilty of throwing away points last season.

The Belgian, who arrives from the Chelsea reserves, cuts an imposing figure at 6ft 5in and has a good pedigree, having worked at PSV Eindhoven before moving on to Stamford Bridge.

But, at just 21, Makaba-Makalamby is young for a goalkeeper and competitive debuts don't come much tougher than an Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle.

Captain Rob Jones was a real attacking threat in his first season at Easter Road, scoring eight goals, but the towering defender often looked awkward at the back, with his distribution poor and the occasional lapse in concentration.

Fletcher is a talented young striker

However, Chris Hogg is a composed young central defender and left-back David Murphy is among the best in the business, solid in the tackle and always eager to get forward.

With exciting right-back Steven Whittaker expected to move on, Torben Joneleit and Thierry Gatheussi have been brought in from French football to strengthen Collins' defensive options.

Hibs have lost the dynamism of Scott Brown and the breathtaking pace of Ivan Sproule.

Both men were hugely popular with the fans and are capable of match-winning moments of magic.

It will stick in the throats of many Hibbies to see Brown in the green and white of Celtic but Collins looks to have invested wisely in Brian Kerr and Alan O'Brien.

The Republic of Ireland winger is also blessed with quicksilver feet and can deliver telling crosses from out wide, something that was all too often absent from Sproule's game.

Kerr will not provide the thrills Brown did but he is a very tidy player who can pick a pass and pack a powerful shot.

In recent years, Hibs fans have been frustrated to see home-grown talents like Garry O'Connor, Derek Riordan, Ian Murray, Kevin Thomson and now Brown, and most likely Whittaker, move on.

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But the club have coped with the loss of such influential personnel, continuing to produce a fine crop of youngsters.

Lewis Stevenson and Kevin McCann were immediately promoted to the first team squad by Collins and the diminutive duo have already done enough to suggest they are stars in the making.

Hibs missed Chris Killen's physical presence and goals when he fell injured in January.

He has since followed Brown to Celtic and Collins has not found a replacement target man.

But, with skilful finishers like Steven Fletcher, Abdessalam Benjelloun and Dean Shiels at the club, it would be a surprise if Hibs struggled up front.