Hibs boss not falling for Scottish stereotypes as Reedijk braces for unique test against McGlynn's Falkirk
Fresh injury concern leaves Easter Road boss short of options
Falkirk represent a stern test for a Hibs team still, despite the best efforts of the new gaffer, very much on the slide. Not least because of the man lining up against Marink Reedijk at Easter Road tomorrow afternoon.
Still relatively fresh out of the wrapper as a manager in his own right, Reedijk must find a way to outwit and outmanoeuvre John McGlynn – a man who has spent just the four-and-a-half decades embedded in Scottish football. Almost 30 years older than the young Dutch coach, the former Hearts, Raith Rovers and Livingston boss is virtually unrivalled when it comes to experience in Scotland’s top flight.
McGlynn, who served one full-time stint as Hearts gaffer a full seven years after being asked to fill in as interim during yet another crisis, is in the with the bricks when it comes to Edinburgh football, in particular. But it would be a mistake to assume he’s built purely for familiar domestic challenges.
Reedijk not fooled by labels
Reedijk, for his part, isn’t about to pigeonhole any opponent just because their skills have been formed and moulded in one very specific footballing environment. In the eyes of the 35-year-old, there’s no such thing as just another Scottish coach.
Interrupting chat about whether McGlynn represented some sort of SPFL identikit of what he’ll face during his time as Hibs boss, Reedijk asked: “And he started off in the other side of the town, right? But every coach has a different emphasis, every coach has a different identity. And I think you need to look specifically to this.
“Combined with what kind of players he has in his possession in order to play in a certain way and how does it come to life on the pitch where there will be challenges and where they will potentially have opportunities for us to exploit. This is how I look at it.
“I don't look at it from a sort of symbolic point of view where I say: ‘Ah, it's a Scottish manager and he would play like this, this and this.’ Maybe you have a few similarities but everything is always with a tweak or with a twist.”
The stakes could hardly be more obvious. Falkirk sit one point and one place behind Hibs in the Scottish Premiership table. An away win would see the Bairns leapfrog their hosts.
That would see Hibs drop – at best – to 11th place in a 12-team league. Leaving Reedijk’s men hoping and praying that Kilmarnock don’t pull of a win over Motherwell to take their own giant leap off the bottom; if that were to happen, talk of a relegation threat would become cries of clear and present danger.
A win for Reedijk’s team in transition, of course, would work wonders. Not merely in lifting spirits, but in closing the gap on some of the teams above them in a busy top-flight table.
Fresh injury concerns ahead of Easter Road clash
Pretty unshakeable in his adherence to some variation on a 4-2-3-1 formation, McGlynn’s team are exactly the sort of side Hibs should be looking to dismantle on home soil. Away from their own plastic pitch, Falkirk are no great shakes.
With just two wins from their opening league games, however, Hibs are in no position to feel entitled to anything other than another tough afternoon in the trenches. A shift made more difficult by injuries and suspensions.
Jacob Devaney, already out after picking up a red card just minutes after coming on in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice, added injury to the insult of his professional foul by picking up a knock that may keep him out beyond this weekend. Reedijk is unlikely to have many additional weapons at his disposal as he looks to instil a bit of swagger in his starting XI.
He revealed: “Jacob Devaney is injured now, too. He got injured in the sending-off and he’s not available for Falkirk. So that is something extra, because we've had players out too.
“Jamie McGrath and Adam Mayor were out last week, trained this week – and we have to see how fit they are. How far they have come along.
“Then we have the long-term guys. Rocky Bushiri is still on the road back. Kanayo Megwa and Jordan Obita also are out. And Jordan Smith took his first steps back on the pitch this week.”