Exclusive: Hibs Women homecoming makes perfect sense for silverware-hunting Reilly

Hibs

As a serial silverware winner in her previous stint with Hibs, Kirsten Reilly was always going to be drawn by the prospect of a return to the club she’d supported her entire life. And the concept of an old-fashioned homecoming would certainly have been familiar to a player who spent four years “growing up” in the hothouse environment of US college football.

As much as the midfielder craved a return to familiar environs after rejecting a chance to stay at Crystal Palace in the summer, however, she couldn’t make a decision based purely on sentiment. It had to make sense, from a footballing perspective.

Listening to Reilly talk with confidence about Hibs challenging the SWPL ‘Big Three’ of Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City, while enthusing about the facilities available to players out at East Mains, it’s clear that the 28-year-old feels good about the sporting benefits of her move. The well-travelled all-rounder, who helped Rangers to their first SWPL title in 2022 before heading to south London, is confident that Grant Scott’s team can make an impact.

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Reilly, looking to make a fast start against Partick Thistle away in tomorrow’s season opener, said: “As a team we need to be pushing for that top three. We have to challenge the three Glasgow teams.

“We need to be beating Hearts, of course. But we need to work well on and off the pitch to challenge.

“A lot of the girls say last season felt like a transitional year. This year, I feel like we’ve really hit the ground running in pre-season.

“I’m just glad to be part of it. I did have other offers. But I knew personally that I wanted to come home, towards Edinburgh way.

Reilly in action against Celtic during her previous stint with Hibs. | SNS Group

“I spoke to Grant, and he told me what was on offer. It was quite an easy decision. If I was coming home, it was Hibs. I’m from Musselburgh and I support Hibs. So not a tough call.

“I really enjoyed my time down south, a different experience. Both years at Palace were enjoyable.

“I did have the opportunity to stay longer if I wanted. But I just felt like the time was right to come home, even though I loved the league – the Championship is really competitive – and made a lot of friends.

“We were full-time at Palace. We would go in about 9 am for breakfast, leave about 2 pm every day. We had a great training facility in Beckenham, not far from London.

“To be fair, I lived right next to it! It was only a 10-minute drive. It could have been a lot worse of a commute in London.”

As enjoyable as life in London was, Reilly always suspected she’d return to Scotland at some point, explaining: “It wasn’t really homesickness. I just felt like I’ve been on the go, away from home, for 11 years, on and off. The time was right to come back up the road.

“But it had to make football sense as well, definitely. I love this club. I had worked under Grant before, worked with some of the girls, so I knew it was the right place for me.

“I actually came through the Hearts academy. I was at Musselburgh Windsor, who kind of changed into Hearts. As a wee Hibs fan, it was fun!

“Then I went to America, which was really good. The facilities are top notch out there. I was there for four years in Alabama, so it was a real culture shock – but I enjoyed my time, made a lot of friends.

“I learned a lot on and off the pitch in that time. I grew up.

“The biggest difference was the heat. It was like 40 degrees. But there were a lot of British players on the team when I went out, which made it easier to adapt.

“It was the University of West Alabama. University sport there is really big. My school was quite small, but you see how big the college American football is.

“Women’s football is massive in the States. There are so many teams at all levels.

“But it’s a different game to the one we play here. I would say the American game is a lot more athletic rather than technical. But that is kind of what American players are like – they’re runners, rather than technical players. I knew once I was done my four years that I wanted to come back to the UK.”

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Scottish women’s football has changed a great deal in recent years. Certainly since Reilly’s previous spell at Hibs, when she won the SWPL Cup twice and the Scottish Cup once over the space of just two seasons.

Reilly, who moved to Bristol for a year before joining Rangers and then Palace, gestured to the surroundings at HTC as she said: “So much has changed. A lot of the same girls are here. And Grant was my coach.

“But we didn’t train here. Getting to train here is amazing. It feels a lot more in-house, like we’ve been taken in by the club – and there’s a bit of ambition behind it. The club, as a whole is supporting us.

“You see that more down south because clubs have more money generally. They can invest in the women’s game.

“When I came back up here, I didn’t know what I was going to come to exactly. But it’s been really pleasing.”