MISSING YOU ALREADY
Gaffer Ross pays a glowing tribute to outgoing Easter Road chief Dempster
JACK ROSS insists the evidence of Leeann Dempster’s success at Hibs is all round the club from trophy cabinet to dressing room.
The Easter Road boss paid a glowing tribute to the outgoing chief executive and insisted her legacy will be leaving the club in a stronger position in all departments.
But Ross is adamant Demps t e r ’ s sho ck departure won’t have a harmful impact on the club’s January transfer dealings – thanks mainly to the structure she helped put in place.
The Hibs boss said: “Leeann’s legacy will be the strongest thing that she will leave here. The work she has done and the success the club has had in that time, she leaves the club in a really good place.
“Undoubtedly she will be a miss. During the year dempI’ve been in charge she Scottish Cup-winning was very supportive of captain David Gray was what I was trying to do, Dempster’s first signing whether that was in the when she took over at football department or Easter Road in 2014. ster trying to get players He said: “When I to the club. first joined the club
“One thing we barely had enough Leeann has is the players to fill a five-aevidence to back up how good she is. People can come into new roles and believe they can do the job but the proof is always in the pudding – and the fact is she’s had six and a half very successful years here.”
Dempster helped Ross bolster his squad with key signings during the past year. But with the next window only weeks away, he won’t fret over her departure and insists sporting director Graeme Mathie and chairman Ron Gordon will ensure there’s no knock-on effect.
He said: “For me, our planning and preparation towards that isn’t affected. I’m sure Graeme’s dialogue with the board and with Ron is then of paramount importance.
“I’m not uptight about that, I’m fairly relaxed in terms of it impacting upon any abilities we’ve got to do anything come January.”
side team, let alone a full first team. The club had just been relegated.
“You see the players who got added, the structure that’s now in place. And that has been reflected in the success we’ve had.
“It’s a compliment to Leeann when you see the fans are disappointed at her moving on, it shows what a good job she has done.”
Hibs face Dundee in the Betfred Cup last 16 today. A month on from their Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hearts, Gray insists the focus is on trying to win silverware. The full-back added: “This is a big opportunity to progress to the next stage. We did well in the group stage but in the knockout stages anybody can beat anybody so we need to guard against that. “We’ve got a home tie so we’re fully expected to go out and put on a good performance and get to the next round.”