Shannon Leishman: Lifelong Hibee signs new deal with Hibs Women

Hibs Women defender Shannon Leishman has signed a contract extension with the club, extending her stay with her childhood club.
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The 25-year-old has been a key performer in green and white this season and is the latest of the team to pledge their future to the team ahead of the 2022/23 season.The marauding full-back, who has been used as a wingback on occasion, said: “I’m obviously delighted. It’s the team I’ve supported my whole life, it’s the team my family have supported for their whole lives as well, so I’m delighted to be back here and excited for the next season ahead.”

‘Admirable work and determination’

Head coach Dean Gibson added: “I’m delighted Shannon has decided to stay on at the club. She’s been here a long time and has had to really wait to get a decent opportunity within the Hibs Women first team. The last two seasons, she’s more than deserved the individual success she’s had.

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"Shannon more than deserves the opportunity to come on this journey. The work and determination for her to get to this point is admirable.

“I look forward to seeing her progress again next season and take her game to the next stage. There are not many players quicker than her in this league – next season we need to use that to our and her advantage and continue to improve.”

With big things on the horizon for Hibs Women, the club is getting plenty of business done early, with new deals for Eilidh Adams, Leah Eddie, Micky McAlonie, Shannon McGregor, Joelle Murray, and Ellis Notley, as well as the signing of Crystal Thomas, while a pre-contract agreement was struck with Trinidad & Tobago internationalist Liana Hinds earlier this year.

Gibson has also renewed his contract and will take the team on a full-time basis.

Shannon Leishman has extended her stay with Hibs Women. Picture: Hibernian WomenShannon Leishman has extended her stay with Hibs Women. Picture: Hibernian Women
Shannon Leishman has extended her stay with Hibs Women. Picture: Hibernian Women
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Speaking about her aims for the upcoming season, Leishman is in no doubt what she wants to achieve with the club.

‘Keep winning derbies, win silverware, challenge for the league’

“Silverware is massive for any club, not just Hibs. In general, everyone wants to win trophies and I think you want to play to win. At the end of the day, at this level, you don’t really play for fun, you do play to win. You see in every girl that plays – they want to win; they want to be lifting trophies.

“We want to keep the derby record going – hopefully we win all of them next year. We also want to get to cup finals, challenge for the league… we want to win silverware and keep winning derbies.”

Academy pathway

The defender also had praise for Gibson, who has brought through several players from the Academy to the first team.

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“For any girl that’s down there, or any girl that’s looking to start, I think you can see that Hibs’ player pathway is very successful,” she added.

“It proves to any girl that’s down there that it is achievable. You can see that Dean does progress players. You’ve got Eilidh [Adams], you’ve got Rosie [Livingstone]… he’s pulled me up, he’s pulled Kirsty [Morrison] up - he does look at the academy.

"Players like Siobhan Hunter and Joelle Murray, Ellis Notley – there are a lot of the girls in the team who have come through the academy. It’s been really good, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of playing.”

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