Hibs use transfer window to reshape identity, with more signings to come

Scott may have been in the job less than a month, but he has already taken giant steps to completely reshape his squad. In just under three weeks, there are already clear signs that a new era is beginning to take shape at Hibs. Eight players have departed the club in this time period, many being first-teamers while another four have joined, committing to Scott’s new vision. Many of these new incomings are young domestic players with three of the four being 19 years old or younger as the manager looks to build a promising new team.

“It is probably quite plain to see right now we have picked up a few,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News. “Certainly, my belief is that these players are young enough, hungry enough and still have a lot to prove in the game. We have always done it at Hibs over the years where the best young players are attracted to come here because they will get the opportunities to play. They will get opportunities to improve and develop their own game alongside some of our experienced players. That’s massive for this club, having a bit of identity again which we have held in the past. Those were the kind of targets and player types that I would have been going for and thankfully we have got some really good ones in.”

The new recruitment strategy is completely different compared to recent seasons. Hibs had been focusing their transfer activity abroad, with many players coming from several different countries such as Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago and Norway. However, now that focus has clearly shifted as they aim to get a complete team ready for the upcoming campaign.

“It's been full-on,” Scott added. “Most of the players who have left were out of contract so not too much to do with us moving them on. That’s been an area I have not really had to work on. The recruitment part is a daily event, where you may have put some offers out, and you may be waiting on some answers for other options. That’s been good, I’ve got a vision of how I want the team to look, how I want us to play. The players that we have recruited so far have certainly hit the criteria of what I was looking for for the first set of players coming in.”

Despite already bringing in four players, Hibs transfer activity isn’t set to stop there with Scott hoping another few players can be brought through the door over the coming weeks. “We have got our eyes on another few players,” he explained. “We will look to add a little bit of experience to the group as well because a balance is really important to allow the younger ones especially to flourish. Ultimately, we still have a little bit more business to do just to finish off."