Hibs’ Head Coach Paul Heckingbottom is already planning for pre-season training and the summer transfer window as he aims to maintain or improve on the excellent start that he and assistant Robbie Stockdale had at Easter Road.
When the pair arrived, Hibs were in eighth place well behind city rivals Hearts and looking unlikely to reach the top six.
An impressive run of unbeaten games saw the club secure a top six place with two games to spare and the they ended the third quarter with a memorable derby win at Tynecastle which saw them leapfrog their neighbours.
The Yorkshireman confirmed that players will come and go during the break and he revealed that he will be using the lure of staying in the capital, along with the facilities of Easter Road and the Training Centre to persuade new signings to come.
He also talked about the Hibs’ fanbase who continue to back the club in numbers and he is hoping that they continue to buy season tickets to help provide funds for his ‘warchest’
He told Hibernian media: “I’m looking at how pre-season is set up in Scotland and it will be totally different. We’ll be back and straight into the League Cup games. That will be new for me and it’s something we’re already planning for.
“Preparation for the transfer window never stops, regardless of what time it is in the season. There are people working away whose sole focus is on that. We’re looking at everyone within the squad and where we want to improve the team.
“We’ll have players in the building who stay and fill those gaps, without a doubt, but we’ll also be looking to bring them in from elsewhere if we can get better options and that’s the same all season and that’s how it should be.
“That work’s been ongoing. People talk about it a bit more just now because of that time of year but everyone at this club has been fighting and working hard for the team and that hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“When we’re signing players. I’ll speak about the fanbase a lot with anyone coming to the club or for a look around Easter Road or HTC, the city.
“You want to come and play for a big club and a team where the fans are fully behind you. I want to speak about that. It’s an emotional pull you can have for players. We know everyone is in a different financial situation.
“At this time of year it could be a holiday or a bill that you’re paying. My guess is most fans who have bought season tickets, it’s in their blood. We’ll have people who are able to automatically renew and others who sacrifice other things in their life to renew to be season ticket holders at Hibs and it’s appreciated by everyone.
“We don’t want people to spend money they don’t have but we appreciate every little that everyone does give for the club, whether it’s season tickets, buying stuff in the club shop or supporting charities and foundations that we run. It’s appreciated by everyone.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
