Hibs today confirmed Alan Stubbs has been appointed the club’s Head Coach with immediate effect – taking charge for the forthcoming 2014/15 Scottish Championship season.
Former Bolton, Celtic, Everton and Sunderland defender Stubbs, 42, arrives at Easter Road from Everton where he had been under-21 coach for six years and says he is excited about the challenge ahead.
Stubbs said: “To be given this opportunity with Hibernian is a great privilege and a real honour – it is a massive club with huge potential.
“I’m excited about the future here at Hibernian and what we can all achieve together at the club – this is the start of the journey.
“The Scottish Championship will be a tough division, but I’m confident that if we approach the challenge with enthusiasm, optimism and belief then we can achieve success.
“I’ve been at Everton for almost six years and now I believe I’m ready to take on the role of Head Coach here at Hibernian.
“I would like to thank Everton for giving me the chance to take up this position with Hibernian and now I just can’t wait to get started; helping the club to earn promotion.”
Chief Executive Leeann Dempster says she is thrilled to have Stubbs on board for next season and reveals he will play an integral role in the club’s new structure.
Leeann said: “There were strong candidates who applied for the position but after much consideration, Alan emerged as the stand-out choice.
“It’s important that the CEO and Head Coach are very much on the same page and that they forge a close working and trusting partnership. I spoke with Alan and it became apparent early in the discussions that we had a common goal.
“He is a driven, intelligent and strong-minded character, who has a very clear vision about what he wants to achieve in football – producing positive results, playing attractive football and developing young players.
“All those attributes fitted the criteria we required and we’re confident Alan is the right man to unite the club and bring success to Hibernian.
“Alan will be our Head Coach and that is part of the new structure in place at the football club; a continental-style model designed for continued long-term success.
“We would like to place on record our gratitude to Everton for allowing us to appoint Alan; they have been professional in every aspect of the discussion – a testament to how highly they thought of Alan within their own coaching staff.
“Finally we would like to thank our supporters for their patience so far, as a club we can all now look ahead optimistically towards the start of the new season.”
Stubbs’ first game in charge of Hibernian will be the club’s pre-season friendly at Berwick Rangers on Saturday 12 July, kick off 3pm.
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.
