Hibernian FC have announced this morning that Brian McDermott has been appointed as the club’s Director of Football.
The 62-year-old was appointed after an extensive recruitment process and will begin working with the Club immediately.
McDermott will work closely with First Team Manager Lee Johnson and have a strong focus across the recruitment of players and football operations such as scouting, analysis, sports science, and medicine. He will also work closely with Steve Kean on the development of our Academy and player pathway.
With tons of experience in the game, McDermott made over 300 appearances as a player and managed almost 500 games, including leading Reading to promotion to the English Premier League.
He has also spent five years as Arsenal’s International Senior Scout, was Chief Scout at Reading, and supported Celtic’s recruitment team through video scouting. He has also been a football and business consultant, and mentored managers in the English Football League working with the LMA (League Managers Association).
Alongside this, the 62-year-old has been a strong voice and leading discussions on mental health.
Chief Executive Ben Kensell commented: “We are delighted with the appointment of Brian McDermott after a long and extensive process.
“We are conscious that this appointment has taken some time, which is partly due to the sad passing of our late Chairman Ronald J Gordon, but we also wanted to make sure that we had the right steps in place and a thorough process, to make sure we’ve got the right person in the door.
“Brian joins us with substantial experience in the game and has worked across numerous different roles across a Football Club on the sporting side, which sets him up perfectly for this role. We also wanted someone that has a strong recruitment bias, and he has that in abundance having scouted across the world for some high-level clubs.
“Brian’s background, contacts, and experience will be vital as we continue to move the Club forwards.”
Brian McDermott said: “I’m delighted to join such a great, community-orientated club like Hibernian FC.
“I scouted Hibs games many times in the past and have always been taken by the fantastic atmosphere at Easter Road.“I am very grateful for this opportunity. Having met the Chairman, the Board of Directors, Executives, Lee Johnson, all the staff, and understanding more around the culture of the Football Club and the objectives, I’m really excited about the challenge.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
