Everyone associated with Hibs will be hoping their new head of recruitment can help sort things out at the club.
Arriving from Premier League side Bournemouth, Garvan Stewart has been named the Hibees’ new recruitment chief after minority shareholder and Cherries owner Bill Foley was keen to get him up.
Bournemouth have done well to get value in the transfer marker and improve their squad without paying over their odds and it is hoped Stewart can bring that to Easter Road.
A big part of the problems at the club has been the recruitment and there has been a huge turnaround of players in Leith over the years.
Former Hibs striker Tam McManus has welcomed the news and also the fact the club now seem to be listening to Bill Foley.
- READ MORE: Joe Newell reveals what was said in players-only Hibs meeting that sparked turnaround in form
Hibs board have ‘finally’ seen sense
Foley had previously intimated that the rest of the Hibs hierarchy hadn’t been listening to him and his Black Knight group since their involvement.
It was believed that centred around the appointments of Malky Mackay as sporting director and David Gray as head coach.
McManus is someone who has been hugely critical of the likes of director Ian Gordon and CEO Ben Kensell, but he has praised them for finally seemingly doing the right thing.
Speaking in the Daily Record, he said: “Well, it’s taken five months but it looks like Hibs are finally taking Bill Foley’s advice on board.
“The Bournemouth owner was furious back in the summer when the Leith board ignored his warnings on appointing David Gray as Easter Road manager.
“But Ian Gordon, Ben Kensell and Mackay McKay felt they knew best and ploughed ahead with the decision to give the job to the club’s Scottish Cup-winning hero. What’s done is done and now it’s all about getting Hibs out of the mess they’re in.
“That’s why I was delighted to see the Hibs hierarchy finally listen to sense as they allowed Black Knight to install one of their own men as the new head of recruitment. Garvan Stewart was described as an expert in his field of data analytics and player recruitment in the club press release that dropped at dinner time on Tuesday.”
And as an individual, Stewart seems impressive and an ideal choice.
McManus added: “Looking at his CV, you can certainly see why Foley was so keen to get him up to Edinburgh. Bournemouth have consistently outperformed their size and spending power during their recent run in the Premier League and that is all down to their ability to source top talent at the cheapest possible price.
“It’s pretty much the exact opposite to what’s been going on at Hibs. Stewart has been working for the Cherries for over 10 years and during that time he’s been employed in a number of roles, building up a wealth of experience and playing a key part in their success.
“Hopefully he can start to impart that wisdom on the people at Easter Road because frankly, Hibs need to work smarter and sharper in almost every department. For Foley, it will be a welcome sign that the Hibs board are at last listening to what he has to say.”
Hibs to ‘duck and dive’ in January transfer window
Hibs look set to have a clearout next summer with 17 players coming to the end of their contracts.
But they might even look to get some of them out in January while also adding to the squad.
McManus expects his old side to recruit a new goalkeeper and possibly even add in a couple of other positions.
“In the meantime, they’ll duck and dive in January,” he added. “They’ll definitely be in the market for a goalkeeper or two give given Josef Bursik and Jordan Smith’s struggles in that department.
“There might be a couple more beyond that but at the very least Stewart’s arrival – combined with the recent results against Aberdeen and Motherwell – have offered some positivity for the Hibs faithful. It’s been a sea of despair for the majority of the season but at last it looks like some momentum is building.
“Well, that’s what I was thinking until I saw this weekend’s fixture – Celtic away!
“Ah well, it was fun while it lasted!”