Hibs owner Ron Gordon has told fans that the club will look to sign new players for next season despite needing to cut costs.
He also confirmed that Hibs “are in reasonable shape under the circumstances” but predicted a 50% drop in income next season.
The players who started back training yesterday ahead of a projected commencement of the season on the first weekend in August have been consulted over wage reductions, with salary deferrals already in place.
“Wherever we see opportunities to improve the team, I think we’re going to take them,” he told Hibs TV.
“We need to have our costs in the right place and reduce our operating budget to something that is reasonable and can help us manage through the difficult financial time.
“But we’re still a football club and we need to compete and continue to look at ways in which we can improve our team and do all those initiatives and make moves which are going to help us be better.”
When asked about the youngsters he responded: ” The academy is on pause for now, We are still engaging with our youngsters and keeping them involved, but there’s really not going to be a lot of activity there.
“Some of our capital investments are still on pause. The whole club is on pause right now as we are sailing through a very difficult time.
“When we come out of it I’m very optimistic that the club is going to be in a very good position to move forward and accelerate at a really good pace.”
Gordon also praised supporters for rallying round the club and revealed that 8,700 season tickets have been sold for the new campaign and unveiled plans to “upgrade” the Hibs TV service, allowing fans to lend their support even with the Easter Road stands remaining empty and encouraged them to back initiatives like Hibernian Supporters to continue contributing to the side in the meantime.
He added: “I really can’t say enough about supporters of Hibs. At the end of the day, they are the heart and soul of the club.
“Over 8,700 have signed up for season tickets, at a time when there is uncertainty on how the season is going to play out, they have stepped up to support the club.
“I’m very proud to be part of the Hibs family. I could not have landed in a better home. It is in times of difficulty when you see what you really have.
“You can’t sugar coat it, it has been a difficult time, it has been difficult to navigate. But I think all in all what gives us the strength is that everybody chips in and collaborates and comes together understanding that there is uncertainty that we need to go through and leading the way have been the supporters.
” But again I have to commend the players, the management, the leadership, the board, everyone has been working very, very hard.
“We’re all looking forward to the day when we have 20,000 fans rooting our team on at Easter Road. Of course, we’re not sure when that will happen, hopefully not in the far future.
“One of the exciting things we are looking to do is how we can upgrade and improve the Hibs TV production and delivery of the football matches. We are putting resources into producing an upgraded matchday experience as well as creating content that will engage fans.
“We have already seen a lot of the leagues restart behind closed doors and the SPFL will be no different, so it requires a little bit of thinking and creativity.
“I do think we have a lot to look forward to, we are in reasonable shape in the circumstances and I think the sooner we navigate this through, we get back to football and we start to make progress, we are going to be able to build very quickly and be in a very strong position.
“Supporters buying season tickets, contributing to HSL [Hibernian Supporters], contributing to the Thank You NHS initiative is all helpful.”
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.
