Hibs awake to Celtic threat despite 'too tired' boss checking out of Euro watch duty as schedule takes toll
Why Marink Reedijk would love to follow Martin O’Neill example of coaching longevity
Hibs boss Marink Reedijk hopes his homework on Celtic means the home side won’t be caught napping at Easter Road – even though his own gruelling schedule left him too exhausted to watch the Scottish champions’ second-half collapse on Europa League duty. And the young Dutch coach says he’d love to emulate the longevity of the manager he’s trying to beat in Sunday’s top-v-bottom clash in the capital.
Reedijk learned plenty from watching Celtic batter Hearts in Glasgow last weekend. And the 35-year-old, who has been putting in regular 12-hour shifts at East Mains as he looks to turn around a season in crisis, did intend to follow every minute of the league leaders’ underwhelming home 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo.
Celtic humbled by Spanish opposition
But he admitted: “I watched the first half yesterday. Because in the second half I was too tired to keep my eyes open because I had long days here. But the first half I thought they did a very good job against Celta Vigo, I can't judge on the second half.
“And for me the both are always interesting to see how do they behave under a certain pressure, how do they behave under another pressure, and where are their strengths, but also where can be their potential weaknesses. So that gives me an idea on specific individuals, but also on the team itself.”
Almost four decades younger than opposite number Martin O’Neill, Reedijk – who insists his players will be armed with everything they need to know for tomorrow’s contest – admitted he’d love to still be in the game when he turns 74, saying: “I hope so, I hope so. As long as you have fun in this, and this is what I really respect in someone like Martin O'Neill, is that you have fun in doing what you do.
“In Holland we have Dick Advocaat, also not a strange name here I think. If you have fun in what you do, then why stop? So then keep on doing because at the end of the day, life is too short not to have fun.”
Looking forward to pitting his wits against a coach who has seen just about everything in his long career, Reedijk added: “It’s like this with every coach. Because the tactical battle is always like, where and how can we put the gloves on in order to battle, and where will they try to exploit us, and where do we want to exploit them, and how does it work in practise?
“Because on the theory board or on the tactics board, I've won every match. But in practise it's always different.
“I want to win, and if I don't win, I want to do everything in my power to be able to win. And at the same time, I'm also very aware that you can lose yourself in going after this, so I try to find the right balance.
“But also in these first weeks, it's also important to get to know everybody here in the building. It's not only that we do it together with the staff and the players, but everybody around is important in order to do the one per cent, two per cent, three percent extra, where we can have a benefit. And then I think we can do something here.”
New boss not sure of strongest starting XI
Reedijk admits that he isn’t yet fixed on his strongest XI at Hibs, with his appointment during the international break giving him a chance to see most players in a warm-weather training camp – but not under the sort of duress created by competitive fixtures. It will, he says, take some time to figure everything out.
Asked if he had a clearer idea of even the best positions for certain players, he acknowledged: “The more you do this, the more you get to know the team, the more you get to know the players and what kind of positions and combinations are the best. So to answer your question, yes. Is it fully done? No, because it's just two official matches.
“Normally you have a pre-season of six weeks, you can already have eight friendly matches. And then in the season, it also takes five or six matches in order to get to your starting XI and what kind of combinations are the right combinations, for example, on the side, in the centre, those kind of things.”
Pressed on whether players needed to have more confidence in themselves to embrace the style of play he’s trying to introduce, the Hibs gaffer asked: “What is confidence? According to you? Because I don't know what confidence means, to be fair with you.
“For me belief starts with yourself. Belief starts with that you do the things, that things are clear, that things become more and more clear over time and eventually that you get some good results, good ideas because of that. Confidence is not something you can switch a button and it's changed.
“Confidence starts with hard work, smart work. Confidence is a word I cannot do anything with. So for me we need to focus on the things we have control over and eventually people will get confidence, if you like.”