Consistently inconsistent.

It's a criticism that's been lobbed at Hibs before but last season they bucked that trend. Jack Ross and his men finished the Premiership season third in the table - albeit still well behind a dreadful Celtic team by their standards - and a fierce Rangers outfit who stormed to the title.

Either way, for the Easter Road side it was their highest finish since 2004/05 and Ross should be rightly proud of his charges and their efforts. Fans must not forget the Leith side also made it through to the Scottish Cup final - only to lose to St Johnstone - and the League Cup semi-final where they were bested by the Perth club again.

Last season can be considered a successful one for Hibs and they are currently reaping the rewards of their achievements with a Europa Conference League spot where they've just beaten Andorran's Santa Coloma to ensure their passage into the next round of qualifiers.

But the nature of the beast is that if they fail to emulate their own finish from last season this term, victims of their own success or not, supporters will not accept anything less. That's the competitiveness of playing in the top flight, and indeed wanting to do so at the upper end of the table.

It was seen as an accomplishment to finish above Aberdeen last year. The Dons were their toughest challengers who pushed them, but ultimately a seven point gap was opened up and that's how things finished. Stephen Glass won't want that happening again this time round and then there's St Johnstone who will likely be pushing for that third spot as well as Edinburgh rivals Hearts who have just been promoted from the Championship.

The fact that the capital derby is back this season is an exciting prospect and a mouth-watering fixture to get fans buzzing for the new campaign. But it also provides a new challenge for Hibs who have struggled in the past, somewhat, to dominate the city in these fixtures. The pressure, then, will likely be on Jack Ross considering Robbie Neilson's men are only just back in the big time.

Pre-season was relatively kind to Hibs. They managed a 2-1 win over Arsenal who brought some of their big guns with them to Easter Road. They also beat Raith Rovers 3-1 following a 1-1 draw with Stoke City down south. But it was their Europa Conference League matches that Ross put the stock into. Hibs looked decent over two legs against Santa Coloma and will hope to use Thursday evening's away victory to build upon when they come up against Motherwell on Sunday afternoon for their league curtain raiser.

Their squad, meanwhile, has been bolstered by a couple of new bodies. Goalkeeper Matt Macey has re-joined on a second loan spell from the Gunners which, after his maiden season in Scotland, will be a major boost for his teammates. His signing, of course, coincides with club hero Ofir Marciano departing for a dream switch to Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.

They already have the crux of a strong defence including Ryan Porteous and Josh Doig, both of whom are attracting serious interest from clubs down south. The latter has already been the subject of various bids from the likes of West Ham and Arsenal, but sporting director Graeme Mathie described the offers, or at the very least enquiries, as 'disrespectful', so you can expect Doig to be around for a while.

In midfield boss Ross has strengthened by bringing in St Mirren man Jake Doyle-Hayes who is a proven smash-hit in this division and the player will want to show he is capable of taking a step up by moving from Paisley to Leith to try and cut it in the top three battle.

Another playmaker, youngster Daniel Mackay, joined from Inverness in the Championship and has plenty of buzz around his name. He looked very tricky in pre-season and could be a valuable asset for his new team. Jamie Murphy completed his free transfer from Rangers and Orlando's Chris Mueller joins up to add to an already impressive attack which includes Scotland cap Kevin Nisbet, Australian speed merchant Martin Boyle and target man Christian Doidge.

One player who will feel like a new signing is Scott Allan. The maestro in midfield is unplayable on his day but has unfortunately gone through some off-field health issues which have restricted his playing time significantly. He played some games on loan at Inverness last term to get minutes into his legs, but if he can stay fit this term he'll undoubtedly be a key man in the engine room.

Ultimately it will be a challenge for Hibs to remain the third best team in the country this season but their manager is always talking about improving and moving forward. Now is the chance to prove they're doing just that under his tutelage.