Hibs manager Dean Gibson outlines next steps after reaching personal milestone

After surpassing his third anniversary as Hibs boss, Dean Gibson wants the club to fulfil his vision after years of progress off and on the pitch.

Since he was appointed on 22 January 2020, the club has undergone massive changes. Gibson joined Hibs when the players are all still amateurs but in less than three years the club has been transformed into a hybrid professional stucture under his leadership. Now that the club have reached that stage, he hopes that they can work towards better consistency.

“It's been good and I've loved my time here at the club, we’ve made huge progressions”, he told the Edinburgh Evening News. “Obviously a lot of people have their opinions on Hibs in the women's game, but we now have a model to kick on and progress and I think that's what you will see the club doing now.

“We were a model before but the model we are now at, we can't go anywhere else. We now have years and years to build on consistency, and that's what we will try and do over the next six months to get us ready for the next season and then hopefully really kick on from the summer onwards. We still have a lot to play for this year and we need to make sure we end the season as strongly as we can.”

Dean Gibson has guided Hibs to back to back fourth place finishes in the SWPL1. Picture: Mark Scates / SNS

On the pitch Hibs have seen a great deal of change too, with the team playing at three different venues over his reign. The circumstances have not changed his ability to get results as he guided Hibs to an SWPL Cup final in December, their first since 2019. Gibson hopes this can be done on a more consistent basis as he aims to close the quality gap on the top three.

“After really putting in a lot of work the last three years, it’s now about really kicking on, on the pitch and get Hibs back to competing on big occasions more regular,” he added. “Getting to a final only six months into a vision was a huge achievement for us but we want it to become the norm.

“We know that it will be a challenge to do it with the quality now in the league, we are proud of what we have achieved in a short space of time but also confident we can now start to compete more consistently on a more regular basis each season. I’m really excited with the next period I have with this fantastic club. To the every player I’ve worked with, to every staff member who’s helped, thank you.”

Scottish international Leah Eddie was at Hibs before Gibson arrived at the club, joining in 2018. The 22-year-old defender appreciates his job hasn’t been easy. “He’s hit the three-year mark now and it's probably been quite hard for him with all the players coming and going,” she explained.

“The investment we got in the summer has helped a lot and you can see since then we have started to get in performances. Maybe not as good results, but we are starting to get to where we want to be. However, there is still work to be done.”