Hibs new manager timetable and criteria revealed as candidates rush to fill vacancy
International break target set - but Easter Road board do not already have someone lined up to replaced Gray
Hibs aim to appoint a manager during the international break in order to give the new man a fair run-in to a packed schedule of fixtures – including an Edinburgh derby at Hampden – with the potential to define the club’s season. But the Easter Road board had NOT settled on a prime candidate to replace David Gray before they made the decision to sack the club legend.
Gray ended his 12-year association with Hibs on Thursday when the former club captain was removed from his post just over two years after stepping up from an interim role. The club cited a downturn in results and performances, capped by Tuesday night’s dispiriting 1-0 home loss to a Kilmarnock side still sitting bottom of Scotland’s top flight.
Gray had chance to turn things around
The Edinburgh Evening News understands that the board were hopeful Gray would turn things around with wins over Kilmarnock and, this weekend, Aberdeen at Easter Road. They had no plans to make an immediate change of management, in the event of Hibs winning both of those fixtures.
Within hours of the decision to remove Gray being announced, the football department had been inundated with expressions of interests and applications for the job. And the board have already begun working to whittle down the long list in search of serious contenders.
Need to move quickly
Timing is understood to be crucial, with Hibs eager to avoid the sort of delay that would leave players in limbo. And there is a feeling, at the highest levels of the Easter Road leadership, that the impending international break offers an ideal chance to make a swift appointment.
Once the final whistle sounds on Saturday evening, Hibs won’t play again until October 10. They also have a mid-season training camp overseas planned in the middle of the break.
That gives the new man a chance to complete a sort of condense pre-season programme with his players, if they get him in ahead of that trip. It is understood that having a manager in place for at least a full week ahead of their return to action, away to Dundee United, is considered a priority.
It is further understood that the recruitment process for a new manager will adopt a balanced approach between data-driven insights and human intelligence, with no strict parameters set on nationality or current working environment. Hibs will be looking at managers currently working in Scotland as well as considering options from further afield.