Hibs assistant boss Adam Owen hoping global football experience can help in European push

A quick glance at Hibs assistant manager Adam Owen’s CV almost reads like tour dates for a world-renowned pop group.

Glasgow, Sheffield, Cardiff, Geneva, Gdańsk, Langfang, Seattle, Lisbon, Poznań, and Edinburgh.

His honours as a coach are diverse and impressive: three SPL titles, two Scottish Cups, three Scottish League Cups, and UEFA Cup final runner-up with Rangers; MLS Cup final runner-up with Seattle Sounders, one Polish Ekstraklasa title with Lech Poznań, and one Swiss third-tier title with Servette, a club that is now a fixture in the country’s top flight. He was also a key part of the backroom staff as Wales reached the last four of Euro 2016.

So when the Wrexham native talks about wanting to progress Hibs to a stage where they are qualifying for Europe each year, it’s not just fantasy.

Between leaving his post as Sheffield United assistant boss in 2014 until he joined the Easter Road coaching staff with Lee Johnson, Owen was abroad and adding to his already extensive knowledge of the game.

This is a man who holds an Associate Researcher role with the Université de Lyon in France, an Associate Professorship at Wrexham Glyndŵr University, and serves as a Coach Educator for both the England and Finland. He’s also authored a book – ‘Football Conditioning: A Modern Scientific Approach’ – and contributed close to 100 publications and book chapters on sport and football coaching science.

More recently, of course, he’s been part of the leadership team at Hibs along with co-assistant boss Jamie McAllister and first-team coach David Gray, and goalkeeping coach Stuart Garden while Johnson continues his recovery from surgery.

Speaking about his time abroad he is emphatic in his assessment.

Adam Owen gives directions during Hibs' 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock

"I'd certainly encourage players to do something similar, I've loved it. Pretty much the last ten years, since I left Rangers, has been abroad. I've loved every minute of it – dealing with different cultures, nationalities, languages – and picking up different languages,” he says.

"It's been a fantastic experience working with different coaches and bringing together a different sort of skill set in a lot of circumstances.

"Putting yourself in an uncomfortable environment isn't for everybody. but it's certainly something I've enjoyed. We've enjoyed it as a family as well.”

He views Josh Doig’s recent transfer from Hibs to Hellas Verona as a sign of what is achievable for young Scottish footballers.

Adam Owen speaks with Wales captain Ashley Williams during Euro 2016

"I was fortunate enough to be around Scottish football for ten years before I came back and he's a great example of what you can achieve when you work hard, you apply yourself well, that the opportunity is there in the game to move on and do well for yourself in the longer term,” Owen adds.

“The staff are delighted for him. We only had a chance to work with Josh for a short period of time but he seemed a good kid, down to earth. You always monitor players' careers through the stages.”

Unsurprisingly, given his views about players benefiting from trying something different, Owen feels he is a much better coach for his overseas experiences.

"Without a doubt. That was one of the biggest things for me, moving to central Europe and being on the border of Germany, France, and Italy, and being able to dip in and out of those types of clubs and work with different managers and coaches and bring it together,” he continues.

Owen, centre, with fellow coaches Jamie McAllister, left, and David Gray

"That linked in very well with Lee; how he wants to go about things is very modern and that's one of the reasons I was keen to come and work with him at Hibs."

There is plenty of enthusiasm as he reflects on a decade spent at a wide range of clubs and, understandably, he struggles to pick out any specific positives, insisting that the variety has been half the enjoyment.

That said, watching a player he coached as a teenager join Chelsea from Juventus after an impressive stint at Borussia Mönchengladbach, and working with a Barcelona legend and another player with lengthy spells at Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain merit a mention.

"They've all been really different, it's been great. I loved my time living in the South of France and working in the Swiss League; a very, very good development league,” he continues.

"There was a big focus on youth and young players – Denis Zakaria has just moved to Chelsea and we gave him his debut [at Servette] at 17.

"They've all been really good in different ways so there's not been one specific thing. MLS was great, managing to do well with a good club [Seattle Sounders] over there.

Owen during his spell with Rangers as the club's performance director

"They were all different experiences but working in China, and seeing the likes of Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Lavezzi was fantastic for me, being able to pick their brains and see such.

"I've loved every minute. All different, but all good."

That sort of experience should serve Owen well at Hibs, where work is under way to turn the Easter Road side into a team capable of competing in the upper echelons of the Scottish Premiership as well as regular dalliances with continental football.

"For me you've got six or seven really good clubs capable of challenging for Europe every year in the Scottish Premiership,” Owen continues.

"We're trying to make sure at Hibs that we improve on where we were last year. That's the key starting point, but how can we progress from there?

"So far, so good; I've been really pleased with how the players have gone about it. I think we were down as one of the youngest starting XIs this season which has been a key mantra for where the manager wants to take the club – young, fresh, hungry players who have the chance to develop and evolve with the club over a period of time.

"There are a lot of positives so far and hopefully we can keep that going."