Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom hails completed transfer business but wants more new faces

Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom has declared himself pleased with the transfer business the club has pushed through so far while admitting he’s still awaiting further arrivals.
Joe Newell has been signed from Rotherham UnitedJoe Newell has been signed from Rotherham United
Joe Newell has been signed from Rotherham United

Midfielder Scott Allan, signed on a pre-contract deal for a third stint, has been joined by former Barnsley defender Adam Jackson and Rotherham United’s Joe Newell as Heckingbottom’s reshaping of his squad following the departure of 12 first-team players got underway. Work continues behind the scenes to add to those three arrivals and, although the head coach was reluctant to discuss either numbers or possible timings for future arrivals, he insisted he was happy with now things are going.

Heckingbottom, who hopes striker Marc McNulty and Belgian Under-21 midfielder Stephane Omeonga will return to Edinburgh, said: “Right from day one we have been putting things in place for recruitment, how it was going to work. We were really strong on a few targets and on the positions we wanted to strengthen,

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“We had twice weekly meetings, we got the budget agreed, we knew what we were going for, what we were going to do and we are still working rowards that. For me, things are going alright, so far I am pleased.”

While Hibs fans obviously know all about Allan from his two previously successful spells on loan, Heckingbottom believes supporters will quickly appreciate the talents of Jackson, a central defender he signed for Barnsley from Middlesbrough, and Newell, a pacy left-sided midfielder.

He said: “Jacko is a real solid character who knows how we want to defend. He’s a real good personality and he’ll fit really well into what is a really strong back-line. I was pleased to get him over the line.

“Joe is someone Hibs have looked at before and a player I looked at when I was at Barnsley. I saw him a lot of times at Peterborough as a left wing-back or left-sided midfielder and we beat off a lot of competition to get him. He has qualities we feel we can improve and he has bought into that.”