UEFA’s new tournament could be a game changer for clubs like Hibernian
UEFA’s revamp of its European club competitions from 2021 is so convoluted that it’s best tackled with a glass of water and an analgesic close to hand.
For those without the inclination to study the detail, but with a vested interest in what’s fast coming down the track, one myth should quickly be debunked. Contrary to common perception, the introduction of a third-tier competition does NOT mean more teams from more nations participating in Europe.
Primarily made up of the offcuts of a scaled-down Europa League, the Conference League is designed to deliver group-stage football to clubs from lesser nations on a more regular basis.
With scotland currently ranked 16th in the UEFA rankings, and with nations one to 15 having more teams involved in the Champions League and Europa League, it remains to be seen where, exactly, the chasing pack in the Premiership and the scottish Cup winners would do battle in the future.
For clubs like Hibs, who start out each year with aspirations of qualifying for Europe, the bottom line is that their reward for achieving that goal from next season on is far more likely to be lucrative group-stage football.
‘The finances in Europe and the platform it would give the club and players is undoubtedly a game changer,’ said Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster.
‘If I understand the (new) competition, and there’s more to come out in terms of how we might participate in that or the Europa League, the opportunity to play more games in Europe is an attractive proposition.
‘We played three matches last season and really enjoyed that. Financially, it was great for us and gave us a lot of experience.
‘When this (Conference) happens, we want to be ready to take advantage of it.
‘That’s why everybody wants to be part of the Champions League. Once you get through to the latter stages, that’s a game changer for clubs who participate.
‘Equally, if we were able to participate in Europe and get through to a group stage of one of those competitions, the Europa League or the new competition, that would be massive for us.
‘You want to be part of these bigger competitions. It has to be a challenge for us — to be ready for it.’
Putting an exact figure on the bounty a club like Hibs could expect from participation in either competition is difficult, but even a fraction of the £14million Rangers netted by participating in the Europa League last season would be significant.
Missing the boat by failing to qualify either through a league placing or by winning the scottish Cup next season is simply not worth thinking about. There’s no question that the prospect of Hibs being rooted in the bottom six a year from now was key to the decisive action taken in dismissing Paul Heckingbottom. ‘It was about weighing up the possibilities with Paul,’ said Dempster (below). ‘We’d gone a full cycle of games and didn’t have the wins we wanted. ‘If you go into a match, being honest, more with hope than expectation then that’s not a good place for us to be. ‘I don’t mean that with any disrespect to Paul. He was a fantastic coach who did brilliant things in the game. I hope he’ll go and do other things and I think he will. ‘But we have to look at the here and now. It was a tough decision. Not an obvious decision. ‘But we made it and now we have to move on to the next phase. That’s life in football. It’s unforgiving.’
Doesn’t Jack Ross know it. For all he failed in his main objective of promotion with sunderland, reaching the play-off final and sitting sixth in League One at the time of his dismissal last month was hardly catastrophic in football terms.
Having seen him come through a rigorous interview process, Dempster does not harbour a shred of doubt that Hibs now have the right man.
‘We were lucky in a way that Jack was available to us in that we could have a quick conversation,’ she said.
The fourth manager she has worked with, gut feeling was as much a factor in Ross’ appointment as his CV.
‘The club has to be right for that person as much as that person has to be right for the club. I certainly felt that when I met Jack,’ said Dempster.
‘You really get a sense of an individual when you have proper conversations with them. And with Jack, it’s been all positive.’
The same can’t be said of the calendar year at Easter Road.
The reasons for Neil Lennon’s departure — not dismissed, didn’t resign, did nothing wrong — are no clearer for the passing of time.
If Heckingbottom did, initially, arrest the decline that punctuated the final weeks of Lennon’s tenure, questionable recruitment in the summer sowed the seeds of his own demise.
Like it or not, for truly the first time since she came to public prominence, Dempster’s decisionmaking is under real scrutiny.
‘I still think there’s been progress at the club,’ she insisted. ‘If you work in football, it does come in peaks and troughs. You don’t win all the time.
‘In terms of it being a difficult year — I work in football to try to make this club as good as it can be. That’s always got to be my determination. I want to be part of winning things, exciting games.
‘Equally, if you want to be part of a football club you’ve got to put your head above the parapet.’