Shaun Maloney was announced today as our new Manager, taking over from Jack Ross who was relieved of his duties earlier this month.
The 38-year-old signs on a three-and-a-half year deal, leaving his role as Assistant Manager of the Belgium National team.
Shaun brings with him a wealth of footballing experience, having worked under Roberto Martínez as a player at Wigan and alongside him at Belgium, helping to guide ‘The Red Devils’ to No.1 in the FIFA World Rankings by playing an attacking brand of football.
Speaking to Hibs TV earlier, Shaun explained how he aims to create a free-flowing style of football that will predominantly entertain Hibs fans.
“The connection between us and the supporters is key at the start. We have to try and look to excite and inspire the fans.
“I want to try and implement a style which I believe is the best way to win, it is not just for style’s sake – I really believe it is the best way to win and excite the fans at the same time.
“We have to inspire the players to play a certain way and hopefully build a connection between myself, the players and the fans.”
Shaun had a well-established playing career, playing predominantly in the Scottish and English top-flight, alongside the MLS with Chicago Fire. He also won 47 caps for Scotland, the country he grew up in from the age of two. During his career, Maloney tells us that as a player he was always keen to explore different ways of playing.
“I always felt there was a different way of playing when I was a player myself. In my late twenties, when we played against top teams and other nations I began to get exposed to different styles of play. Roberto Martinez was a big influence on me at that stage in my career and more recently in the last few years with Belgium.
“That influence has given me a deep desire to create a different style in Scotland.
“I am very open-minded, I obviously have my own ideas on the best way to win football matches. How quickly I can implement that time will tell.
"I am really excited to work with the players, we have some very talented and technical players. Hopefully the way we play will show that even more but we have to compete, we have to fight in every game, every training session and every moment if we want to achieve.”
