PAUL HECKINGBOTTOM has enjoyed a fine start to life in Leith. The 41-year-old took over at Easter Road back in February after Neil Lennon left the club and it’s fair to say things were getting a little stale at Hibernian. The club looked destined to finish in the bottom half of the table but after picking up four wins in their last five league games, Hibs look a near-certainty to finish in the top six.

Heckingbottom has won four out of his six games in charge so far, with a draw against Rangers and a home defeat to Celtic; not a bad return from the former Barnsley boss. So how do his side vary from Lennon’s?

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The most notable difference in Hibernian under Heckingbottom is that they appear to have got their attacking mojo back. This is no small part down to the addition on Marc McNulty in January - who was initially identified by Lennon, to be fair - but the Hibernian attack is finally clicking again.

Both Hibs’ goals scored and expected goals have improved under Heckingbottom, implying that not only are the Edinburgh club taking their chances; they’re also creating better ones. Heckingbottom has also tightened things up at the back, with Hibs’ goals against per 90 minutes dropping from 1.28 to 1.

We can also see a change in approach when we look at Hibs’ average possession throughout the season. Under Lennon, Hibernian enjoyed more of the ball than their opponents regularly, averaging 53.4% each game. Under their new man, that figure has dropped to 46%.

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Heckingbottom has brought with him a new form of attacking play for Hibs. The Easter Road side are hitting fewer crosses and attempting fewer passes since Heckingbottom took over than they did under Lennon, but this approach appears to be working. The passing rate has increased slightly by an additional 0.5 passes per minute of possession, and the average pass length has also increased marginally.

Heckingbottom clearly prefers to keep the ball on the deck; both the number of crosses attempted during each game on average has dropped, as have the number of headers attempted.

This tells us that Heckingbottom’s Hibs have become a more direct outfit since February. They’re playing faster, riskier passes than they were under Lennon - Hibs’ forward passing accuracy has dropped since Lennon left the club - but so far at least, this approach appears to be working.

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Off the ball, there has been a similar shift in emphasis for Hibernian. The number of tackles attempted remains pretty much as it was, but in defensive phases Hibernian are working much harder than they were under his predecessor. The number of interceptions per 90 minutes illustrates this: the average has risen from 44.7 under Lennon to 54 per 90 minutes under their new boss.

These changes are becoming more apparent with each game and as Heckingbottom continues to mould his payers into the system that he wants to play, the changes will only become more and more obvious. Keeping the ball on the deck and looking for a runner are key aspects of Heckingbottom’s tactical setup, and it seems as though the former Barnsley boss prefers to play an open game; creating more goalscoring chances, but also conceding more simultaneously.

Hibs are more hardworking out of possession and this approach is paying dividends for Heckingbottom so far, and it’s worth pointing out that these figures might not be entirely representative of the style of play the 41-year-old is aspiring to play. We’re only six games into his tenure so far, and two of those have came against Old Firm opponents. But we can be sure that Heckingbottom has had a positive effect so far at Hibs, and that his side are one that is clearly on the up.