By Hibernian FC

As a youngster, Eddie was a fan on the terraces of Easter Road before his talents in the game led him to over 100 senior appearances for the Club. A return to Hibs as Academy Coaching Manager in 2014 was followed by varying first team responsibilities and taking charge of the Club as Caretaker Manager basis on occasion.

As a youngster, Eddie attended matches at Easter Road with his dad and two brothers at a time when Hibs were one of the best sides in the country, a lucky era to make your first steps as a young Hibee.

“My first memories of watching Hibs were in the 1974/75 season when I was seven or eight years old. I was quite fortunate that Hibs were at a good standard with big crowds at that time – I really enjoyed it.”

“Going to the matches at that age gave me the opportunity to see some very good players at Hibs - some of them were exceptional.”

“You don’t realise when you’re a young kid, you just want to go and watch games of football but when Hibs were at it in the 1970s, they were a very very good team.”

An unforgettable encounter with two of the biggest names in Hibernian’s history is one of Eddie’s favourite memories as a young fan growing up in North Edinburgh.

“I stayed in West Pilton when I was young and I’ll always remember Pat Stanton and Erich Schaedler coming down to sign autographs, there were thousands of people there. It was unbelievable to be so close to these two guys who played at Easter Road every week.”

Eddie, like many young football fans at the time, admits it wasn’t only Hibs who got his attention when he was growing up - he and his school friends would attend Easter Road and Tynecastle on alternate weekends.

“I used to go and watch Hibs one week and Hearts the next because all of our friends were either Hibs or Hearts supporters.

“We used to go to all the home games – we never ever paid, we used to just sneak in all the time! It was different watching Hearts compared to Hibs and I used to quite enjoy it when Hearts got beat. Never ever did I think that one day I’d be on a field playing for the team I supported.”

Just three years after joining his first organised football team at the age of 12, Eddie signed for Dundee United and a year later made the move to his boyhood club Hibernian, where he made great strides in his professional career.

“I never ever thought I’d be a professional football player, I just played for fun.”

“One of my ambitions, when I went to Hibs, was to play in a derby. I was very fortunate, I was only 17 when I played in my first derby against Hearts at Tynecastle, I think we got beat but that was my first taste of it.

“It was always one of my goals to play in a winning team against Hearts and I was really pleased I did that.”

From his playing days to present day – Eddie has gone full circle with Hibs. Since joining the coaching and Development staff at HTC in 2014, Eddie has held various different positions within the Club – including serving as Caretaker Manager on numerous occasions.

Now working as part of the backroom staff at HTC, Eddie recalls the difference between his time as a player compared to the modern day player.

Even as a player in the Hibs First Team squad, Eddie was expected to do his fair share of the off-field duties around the stadium throughout the training week and on a match day.

“The training was completely different, you had to be in really early to get some kit at times! Even when I played in the first team I changed in the reserve team dressing room, I didn’t even think about going through to the first team changing room.

“When I was at the Club I swept the stadium. I used to play for the first team on a Saturday and I still cleaned it on the Monday. My job at that time was to sweep from the boardroom right up to the front entrance of the main stand – and I mean sweep, it was a carpet and we didn’t have a hoover, I had to sweep it with a brush and shovel – I did that every single day.

“I left Hibs at the age of 21 and to that day I didn’t ever see myself fully as a First Team player, I was a young guy just trying to make my way in the game.”

Looking back at his contribution to the club; as a fan, player and now part of the coaching staff, Eddie is proud of what he has achieved in the green and white of Hibernian.

“I look now in my position and I wouldn’t say I’ve been fortunate, I’ve worked hard to be where I am and I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I’m determined to produce players befitting of the Hibs First Team.”

“I know what that takes because I was a young guy at Hibs, I was quite fortunate – John Collins, Paul Kane, Mickey Weir and Gordon Hunter – we all walked away having done extremely well for the club.”