Hibs aim to double player budget in bid to raise game on all fronts
● American owner unveils ambitious plans for domestic and European success at AGM
Hibernian have set themselves a bold target of doubling their player budget over the next three years as they strive for regular involvement in European football and a say in the latter stages of the league and domestic cup competitions.
Owner Ron Gordon has not hidden his ambition since taking control of the Leith club in the summer and, addressing shareholders at last night’s annual general meeting, the Easter Road boss laid out his plans for the next five years, which include increasing turnover by 50 per cent by 2023 and 100 per cent by 2025, and pledged a significant proportion of those new funds to improving the first-team squad.
Theamericanbusinessman, who bought over the majority shareholding from Sir Tom Farmer in July, acknowledged that his aspirations are audacious but, having taken time to assess the Scottish game, the culture, market forces and every department of the club, he insists they are attainable.
“We want to compete at the top of Scottish football every year,” he said. “We want to be in the top four of every competition, league and cups, and hopefully we will be in Europe on a consistent basis. It is a significant aspiration but not out of the bounds of possibility.”
While there are extensive plans to enhance the matchday experience in and around the stadium and a drive to promote the club brand in the capital and around the world, Gordon accepted that, for fans, the priority will always be what happens on the pitch.
The current player budget is the club’s highest ever, according to the Hibernian chief executive Leeann Dempster, with the annual accounts showing a spend of £5,560,552 on salaries, but that includes all 110 club employees, not just players.
That figure was up from £4,712,884 last year and, with Gordon adamant that the club won’t just tread water, the investment is set to double.
Despite a poor start to the campaign, Hibs are still in the hunt for a top-three finish and a place in next season’s Europa League qualifiers and, with a
“Celtic and Rangers are so far ahead butmygoalistobe competitive and punch above our weight-class... We want to be consistent”
RON GORDON, HIBS OWNER
push to increase the current season ticket tally of around 13,000, and new sponsorship deals in the offing, the owner is hopeful that the added finance will help them attain at least that level of success going forward.
“Our goal over the next three years is to double the budget that we have right now. There are no guarantees in football, just because you have the most money does not mean you’re going to win. But it does give us the possibility that we can be more competitive on a consistent basis,” said Gordon.
“If you look at Scottish football right now we’re fifth from a turnover perspective and I’d like us to be fourth, third. We have a long way to go because Aberdeen has a substantially higher budget and turnover, the same thing with Hearts. We need to move up that ladder. A lot of the funds that are going to be generated operationally are going to go into the football programme.
“Celtic and Rangers are so far ahead but my goal is to be competitive and punch above our weight-class. The money won’t give us guarantees but we want to be consistent.”
Gordon’s belief is that the nation’s passion for football should make it easier to land lucrative sponsorship deals, but major links are being severed at national level with league sponsors Ladbrokes and Scottish Cup backer William Hill pulling out. This is something that, he says, has to be addressed, with the Hibs boss claiming that the game’s administrators are not doing enough to sell the product.
“This is not healthy for the game. One of my biggest beefs with the SPFL is that we don’t do enough to promote the game, to grow the game – to give it value,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of people who come to the games. We’ve had this conversation with Hearts, we need more money in the game so our clubs can be healthier and stronger and we can put a better product on the field, and can compete in Europe.
“Hibs as a club are definitely going to advocate for some action around that.”