Hibs: Jack Ross speaks on Stephen McGinn situation and Fraser Murray loan option

Jack Ross has admitted he would like to have Stephen McGinn in some sort of role at Hibs, but appreciates it may not be possible to offer his former captain a full-time job.

The 31-year-old was training with the Easter Road side during pre-season. He took part in the warm-up ahead of Tuesday night’s 1-0 win against Dundee United and has also been performing a role undertaken last season by former Hibs defender Steven Whittaker.

Speaking ahead of Hibs’ home match with Motherwell on Saturday, Ross said: “Stephen has obviously been in training with us, which has enabled him to get physically fit.

"Psychologically, it was good for him as well.

“We’ve had quite a lot of changes in here. We’re quite skinny in terms of staff.

“Stephen is someone whose contribution, input, and knowledge of the game I very much trust, and he’s helped my staff and I over the opening three league games by being part of that.

“It’s been a great learning experience for him – but great for me, because he’s helped us win these games.

“At the moment, the situation is as it is. But his contribution, helping us as a staff, has been very good.”

Last season Whittaker was occasionally dispatched to the directors’ box with a headset and relayed information to the bench. McGinn has been doing similar this season.

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Ross explained: “He’s watched the game from up in the stand, feeding down information through the microphone to Craig [Samson, goalkeeper coach].

“It gives us another vantage point. I like it, I’ve used it in the last three or four seasons – I think it benefits me as a manager and the staff as a whole.

“I had a really good relationship with Stephen when he was my captain but it’s not a sympathy vote. He’s doing it because he adds value.

“He understands the game and he knows how I work, so it’s been an enormous help to me.”

McGinn, currently a free agent after leaving St Mirren during the summer, has effectively been working for free for the Capital club.

Ross added: “I’m grateful because, in essence, he’s doing it as a volunteer.

“I would like to have him as part of the club, but we don’t know how that will develop, and he understands that.

“It’s been a no-lose situation for him in terms of getting fit and physically ready to go, should any opportunities arise for him.

“He’s been an asset to me and his input has been valuable.”

Hibs chairman Ron Gordon has been spending time with Ross recently, having flown in from the US and completed the quarantine requirements, and the pair have had a chance to discuss football matters on and off the pitch.

Ross said: “We have had conversations but a lot of them have been about the broader vision for the club and so on.

“It’s nice to have him here for the foreseeable future as well, which I think he is enjoying.

“We have a structure at the club with Graeme Mathie in his position [as sporting director] and Leeann Dempster as chief executive so in that respect Ron and I speak a lot in general terms and he runs a lot of things by me.

“The line of communication probably hasn’t altered that much; it’s not like I would ever go directly to him whether he was back in the States or here.

“I think as a club we understand the need to have a clear structure on what we do regarding contracts.

“We don’t want to be in a position where we have a number of players running down their contracts all at the same time."

Ross also confirmed that midfielder Fraser Murray is keen to head out on loan in order to get more game time, with Dunfermline Athletic a potential destination.

Ross explained: “He’s at an important stage of his career and I don’t want to inhibit his development by having him hanging around the first team here.

“If he’s not playing regularly here, he needs to play regularly elsewhere.

“He’s got a lot of ability and potential, but not a lot of first-team experience. I would anticipate that he will go out on loan.

“We’ve already chatted about it. It needs to be the right level for him.

“He was really keen on it last season. We had something arranged but ended up a bit short, so we needed him here.

“He made some appearances for me in the latter part of last season, but we feel we have enough options in that area of the pitch to allow him to go.

“We can’t pad out our squad by blocking players’ development. He’ll benefit from it and he’s keen to do it.”