Inside the managerial methods of Hibs boss Marink Reedijk as coach reveals show-and-tell game plan approach
Falkirk at Easter Road already a must-win Scottish Premiership game for hosts
Just because you taught it, doesn’t mean they learned it. A favourite mantra of coaches, teachers and instructors the world over.
As he tries to cram a lot of new information into a Hibs squad who had been working to the beat of a very different drum, Marink Reedijk is taking no chances. Show, tell, demonstrate on the training ground … he’s trying his best to cover all bases in getting his message across.
“Well, I'll tell you how we do it,” said the 35-year-old Dutchman, sitting in the small auditorium used for team meetings and analysis sessions at HTC. “We sit here, we show clips of the opponent, we show clips of ourselves, depending on the day.
Every session has a ‘purpose’ according to Dutch coach
“We walk through things on a tactics board, we walk through things on the pitch. We do individual training sessions specifically on certain areas where they need to improve. We sit down with them individually, we sit down in units, we bring things to life unconsciously and consciously in our training sessions.
“So everything is aimed at our own way of playing, combined with the match which is coming, or the match which has been played – but it's important for the match which is coming. So all the time we use here is not about just being here. It's about, if you come into the building, we have a goal, and we have a purpose – and we do everything in order to get things in as quickly as we can.”
Special day at Easter Road
Reedijk insists he’ll stick to his normal match-day routine ahead of his Easter Road debut tomorrow. There is no plan to get there early ahead of his team’s Scottish Premiership fixture against Falkirk, the young gaffer pointing out: “It will be special in itself already. So there's no need to make it extra special.”
After disappointment against Dundee United last weekend, sparking ugly scenes among one section of the away support at Tannadice, a home game could be both a blessing and a curse for Hibs. Falkirk boss John McGlynn wasn’t wildly out of line in talking about his team possibly fermenting further unrest among Easter Road regulars.
Hibs have it within their power to change the mood entirely, of course. What they do on the pitch, rather than anything happening in the stands, will set the tone.
“I always see it as a responsibility, home or away, that we bring everything we have on that day to the pitch,” said Reedijk. “I've always focused in our speeches just before the match on what we have to do, combined with who we are and what we stand for. This, hopefully, is reflected on the pitch as well – and then the people will see who we are.
“We always see things in the results. Yes, me as well but, at the same time, my role is not to judge results. It's also to judge what we do on the pitch, and also see the good things in that. So the confidence is from us, and this is what we try to instil. Repetition, clarity – and making sure they keep on doing what we ask.”