SHAUN MALONEY admits Hibernian have struggled to find an attacking edge since they lost star man Martin Boyle in the January transfer window. 

The Australian international winger moved to Saudi outfit Al Faisaly for a fee of £3.5million and since the switch, Maloney’s team have failed to find a consistent run of form. 

They now face a battle to land a top-six finish in the Scottish Premiership this weekend when they head to city rivals Hearts in the final match before the split. 

Only a win will do for Hibernian, but Maloney is reluctant to describe the season as a failure if his team were to miss out. 

“I think failure is a strong word,” he explained to Sky Sports. "There are definitely reasons why we’re fighting on the last day for the top six. 

“I love the size of the club and I love the expectation. We’re in a place now because of what happened in the last seven to ten days of the window. We’ve really struggled in certain areas. 

“It’s my job to fix that and really make sure that next season we’re never as reliant as we were on one player in an attacking area. 

“But for sure we want to be in the top six. The size of the club demands that and that’s what I love about the club. That’s why I left Belgium to come to Hibs.” 

Maloney insists he supported the decision to let Boyle go in the January window, but he admits he did not expect the exit to have such a negative impact on his squad. 

He continued: “I really supported the decision. With the way the window went and that particular move, we couldn’t say no. 

“And unless the processes are right to replace him, then we can’t take that risk. We’ve got a really good recruitment team. I get on very well with the CEO [Ben Kensell] and it was the right decision. 

“It just has an impact and we’ve seen that. I have to try and find the solution. At times we have, at times we haven’t but I hope that we find it this weekend.” 

Saturday’s match between Hibs and Hearts is the first of two Edinburgh derbies this month. The capital duo will face off at Hampden in two weeks’ time in the Scottish Cup semi-final, but for Maloney, all focus is on league affairs first. 

He added: “It has to be. It keeps it in our own hands but as a manager or a coach, you have to really focus on the performance, which we did against Dundee United. 

“It didn’t match the result and we have to try and change that this weekend. 

“The word clinical will probably be the decisive word for us this weekend. We have to take our chances like we didn’t against Dundee United.” 

Meanwhile, Hibernian midfielder Kyle Magennis has confirmed that his season is over after he underwent knee surgery on Monday. 

The 23-year-old has been sidelined since the end of September after initially being plagued by a groin problem. He was due to return to action early this year but just as he was nearing full fitness, he suffered a knee problem. 

Manager Shaun Maloney had been confident about the chances of welcoming Magennis back for the closing weeks of the season but his tone changed on Friday when he hinted ahead of Saturday’s draw with Dundee United that the former St Mirren player may not play again this term. 

The player posted a picture on his Instagram story on Monday from a hospital bed with his leg in a bandage, accompanied by the words: “Gutted my season is over but surgery went well, back for pre season.”