Marink Reedijk is looking forward to taking charge of his first competitive match as Hibs manager against Dundee United this afternoon.
The Dutchman has spent the past two weeks working with his new squad on the training pitch, implementing his ideas and getting to know the players.
Now, the competitive action gets underway, and Reedijk has three points in his sights.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the Scottish Premiership and seeing where we are at,” he explained.
“I’m also a competitive animal, so I want to win. This is an opportunity to do that, and I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow.
“We’ve learned a lot over the last two weeks. We’ve tried to implement the things we want to see, which has helped us identify our strengths and areas for improvement.
“We’ve also been getting to know the individuals, both as human beings and as players, as well as the staff and their strengths. It’s been an intense but good couple of weeks.
“The message to the team is that they have to stick to the things we’ve trained, believe that they’re good players and, most importantly, enjoy playing football. At the end of the day, that’s why we started playing the game.”
Reedijk will also have the backing of a strong travelling support, with around 2,500 Hibs fans expected to make the trip to Tannadice and the 35-year-old is determined to give them a performance to be proud of.
“I’m very excited about the supporters coming along. I understand that more than 2,000, perhaps even 2,500, will be travelling with us. That’s brilliant and amazing.
“It’s really important for us as a team to have so many fans supporting us and helping us through the match.
“We want them to go home with a smile on their faces and to see a team that wants to fight for this badge.”
When speaking to Hibs TV, he provided a team news update ahead of the trip, confirming that Marko Ivezić is back in the squad and in contention to make his Hibs debut. Jamie McGrath and Adam Mayor remain unavailable through injury, with the match coming too soon for the pair.
“Everybody is okay apart from Jamie McGrath and Adam, who are still injured. The match comes too soon for them, and the players who are out for longer (Rocky Bushiri, Jordan Smith, Jordan Obita) are also still unavailable.
“However, the good news is Marko Ivezić is back in the squad.”
