As Callum Davidson pointed out, three of his substitutions at the weekend were forced upon him and all of them were to cover defensive positions, albeit, as he also pointed out, Michael O’Halloran did his best to drive the team forward in his 45 minutes at right wing-back.
The one change made not injury-related was Nadir Ciftci for Glenn Middleton.
If it had worked as Davidson hoped and planned, this switch could have been the game-changer.
A first half largely dominated by Hibs – territorially at least – had been negotiated and Saints were growing in confidence that they could push harder for a winner.
In that context, Ciftci was introduced on the hour.
That he failed to make any sort of significant impact on the contest turned out to be one of the key reasons momentum in the Perth side’s favour couldn’t be constructed.
You could argue that he and Callum Hendry are too similar in style to be an ideal attacking partnership but that doesn’t provide mitigation for the fact that in over half-an-hour of football the former Dundee United man committed as many fouls (four) as he did passes.
That total of four free-kicks conceded was higher than any other Saints player, including defenders and midfielders who completed the full 90 minutes.
The Opta statistics also reveal there were no shots, no key passes and no tackles.
It tallied with the impression in the ground of a player who toiled to get himself involved in a meaningful way.
Ciftci’s form after returning from injury is a worry.
And it would be an even bigger worry were it not for Hendry’s consistent excellence and goals.
The contrast between Saturday at Easter Road and Ciftci’s Saints debut across Edinburgh at Tynecastle was stark.
He wasn’t anywhere near full match sharpness in the Perth side’s first game after the mid-season break but he was still the best player in blue that night.
Ciftci certainly didn’t do enough against Hibs to force his way into Davidson’s starting line-up ahead of Middleton for the visit of Motherwell to McDiarmid Park in a fortnight.
He may even have put doubt into the manager’s mind whether he should be the first centre forward change off the bench if a plan B is needed up front.
It’s now over 300 minutes of action without a goal or an assist to Ciftci’s name.
Since he took over from Tommy Wright, Davidson’s trust (or lack of) in strikers has been a constant sub-plot.
Over the last couple of games, Ciftci hasn’t taken his chance to earn it.
