Hibs on Deadline Day - Black Knights guru and gaffer Gray working to secure star quality before window closes

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Youan to Blackburn could prompt flurry of activity

Heading into the closing hours of the January transfer window, there is still business to be done by Hibs. Regardless of whether they land exactly the right player to deliver precisely the boost needed for the second half of a campaign marked by extreme form swings, the entire recruitment department at East Mains will be working right up to the deadline.

So how, exactly, does that system work under the guidance of Garvan Stewart, the former Bournemouth scouting guru appointed as head of recruitment at Hibs – a Black Knights appointment at the behest of billionaire investor Bill Foley – and sporting director Malky Mackay? At what point does manager David Gray get involved?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On a day when the biggest news may well involve the departure of Elie Youan to Blackburn, Gray is clear on what he wants to achieve. Namely, he’s still looking for a signing on a par to last January’s two big hits, Myziane Maolida and Emi Marcondes. Should Youan depart, the priority will obviously be a forward who can help his team unlock opposition defences.

The gaffer is also braced for other potential departures, aware that very few clubs lose only the players they WANT to lose during a mid-season market typified by panic buys. Gray’s approach is, he insists, to remain focused on only signing genuine quality – even if that means settling for last week’s arrival of Gambian international midfielder Alasana Manneh as the only piece of serious business done.

Explaining how he has worked with Stewart since his appointment at the start of December, Gray told The Evening News: “We'll always be future planning about what we'll look for. Obviously when he came in it was very much getting to know what we are, the profiles we'll look for in certain positions, how I want to play, what we're looking for as a club.

“And if we're trying to identify position X, he would then look at all the profiles of what we would look for in that position and what we'd be looking for, pros and cons and everything else that comes with that. Then the work then starts there throughout the whole recruitment process, which has been going on for a while.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He’ll then present us to what we think is the best opportunities. We collectively come up with what we think is the right one - if we can get it done.

"You don't want to just bring players to the football club that don't improve the squad. I don't think anybody would ever bring a player to a club anyway where intention is not to try and make you better.

“Naturally, you don't get every single one right of course, but the intention is always to improve the squad. Once the window closes, it’s not about whether we’ve done enough business, whatever people think initially - it's all judged on the results straight away.

“We need to be in a position when the window closes where we feel we're stronger to give ourselves the best chance to finish the season as strongly as we can. If we can do that, we've given ourselves a real opportunity, with where we are in the league, to end the season really positively. That's my mindset every single day."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Aware that a number of fringe players want to leave in pursuit of game time, a lesser concern set next to the possibility of losing certain starters to an offer that Hibs can’t refuse, Gray – who constantly reminds everyone that he’s got 15 guys out of contract in the summer - insists: “It comes back to it having to be right for everyone involved. That's the nature of the industry we're in.

“One thing that's a real credit to the group of players that we've had, especially during difficult times, I've really felt that we stuck together they all really wanted to be part of it. I've not had anyone banging the door down desperate to leave at all.

“There are certain situations, clearly, where boys aren't playing the minutes they would want - but there also needs to be interest in them, there also needs to be opportunities for them to go to places, or we need to feel that it's the right thing for the football club. Naturally, getting towards the end of the window there will always be things that pop up at last minute or opportunities for certain things to come up. It's about making sure we're in a position to react in a positive way and making sure that everything we do suits everybody involved.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Into the home stretch we go, then. Braced for a minor flurry of potential outgoings and – all going well – one more signing capable of making an instant and serious impact. Quite the trick, if they can pull it off.

News you can trust since 1873
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice