Jack Ross has made his mark as Hibs boss - but says there is still more to do

As he celebrates his first year anniversary as Hibs manager, Jack Ross is able to look back with a sense of satisfaction but that does not mean he is not seeking more from himself, and his players.

Hibs manager Jack Ross takes training ahead of Sunday's Betfred Cup match against Dundee. Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group

“I will probably never be satisfied,” he admitted. “I will continually seek perfection and I will probably never get it.

“I can be crabbit sometimes after training if I don’t feel we’re at the levels I think we need to be at. The first part of it is creating a mentality where everybody believes that they are part of the target and the second part is what I see on a daily basis. There are loads of things I think we have improved on.

“We’re feeling as if we’ve made progress. If you want to make it really simple, I think we were eighth in the league when we came in and up until last weekend we were third so that in itself suggests progress.”

But a stutter in the recent results, losing back to back games for the first time this term, against Hearts and Aberdeen, should not be allowed to cloud the overall positivity, according to the Easter Road gaffer.

“The culture and mentality is something we’re constantly trying to shift and that’s probably why I was irritated in my post match stuff against Aberdeen. We all lose games, you can accept that, and there were bits in the performance that didn’t let me down in that respect but it was just making sure we’re not satisfied and it was about continually trying to push that boundary as much as you can.

“We have made improvements and it feels as if we’ve made good acquisitions to the squad. Despite all the challenges, I do feel as if since the pre-season period we’ve made good progress.”

If his initial few months at the helm felt hectic as they tried to address the immediate desire to simply “ bang out a team to get points”, lockdown gifted him the breathing space needed to reflect and regroup.

“That period was probably pretty good for me because I came into the job so quickly after Sunderland. I felt a lot more clear headed coming into pre-season.”

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