Johnson hopes fans can quickly see past his Tynecastle history
WITH only five appearances for Hearts as a player across a six-month period 16 years ago, the new Hibernian manager, Lee Johnson, is confident the supporters at Easter Road will not use his past against him as he attempts to build a bright future in Leith.
In fact, Johnson made a point of saying that Hibs would be coming for Hearts – the team that finished third in the Premiership – and their manager and his former team-mate Robbie Neilson next term.
“I’m really looking forward to going up against Robbie,” said Johnson, who was officially unveiled yesterday after signing a four-year deal to become Shaun Maloney’s permanent successor.
“I’ve not heard from him yet, I was going to send him a message saying ‘I’m coming for you Curly Top!’”
The fiery Edinburgh derby is a game the 40-year-old is looking forward to, having been starved of a big local rivalry during his time in the dugout at Sunderland, where he was dismissed in January, Bristol City, Barnsley and Oldham.
He added: “I know the rivalry and it was a massive pull for me. To be honest, as a manager my derbies have been rubbish.
“My best one was Oldham v Rochdale and I wanted something like Newcastle. I wanted Bristol City v Bristol Rovers.
“So I know I’m going to get a proper derby here. I thrive off that. I want to win, I want to compete and I want to deliver back to the fanbase and prove my worth. I like to think that my experience but also my resilience – that I’m big and ugly enough to cope with big pressure – will help.”
Johnson fought off competition from the likes of former Malmo boss Jon Dahl Tomas
son to land the post and sought assurances from owner Ron Gordon that he would be given backing in the dugout.
US-based owner Gordon has earned a reputation as a trigger happy chairman, having fired both Jack Ross and Maloney in December and April respectively. “I think it is fair to ask that question,” added Johnson. “When you get a final interview it actually works both ways.
“This decision is really important for Hibs but on a personal level it’s also really important in terms of my career.
“A lot of questioning of the board was about this, ‘do you actually want longevity in a manager’, and I trusted that that is the case and trusted I would be supported in the right way.”
Johnson talked of his Hibs team being aggressive and dangerous on transitions and hoped he would be able to lead the team to the upper echelons of the Premiership, cup finals and into Europe.
Club legend David Gray will remain first-team coach after taking over the reins on a caretaker basis from Maloney, while ex-Hearts and Aberdeen leftback Jamie McAllister is expected to join as Johnson’s No.2.
Johnson, whose only tangible success as a boss was last season’s EFL Trophy win as Black Cats boss, has a family steeped in the game, his father Gary having managed Bristol City and Latvia among many others.
However, his dad is not the only one he looks to for advice.
He added: “I’ve got some really big hitters in football who have been fantastic with me. Kenny Dalglish, Brian Marwood, Dan Ashworth, these guys are references on my CV.
“I can phone these guys. Kenny, for example, is unbelievable. Be it a decision or managing up, you could be fretting over a decision over five or six weeks. Before the end of the sentence, Kenny’s got it sorted. To have the opportunity to bounce scenarios off those guys, is powerful.
“I think it was an interesting one, I had my B licence then did my A and Pro Licence in Scotland with the SFA and I was like ‘Kenny, do you have any advice, I’m going in for my interview for the Oldham job’, and he said Lee, ‘just be yourself’.
“I hear he rang the Oldham owner straight and said, ‘I know you’re meeting Lee Johnson, blah, blah, blah, he’s a real deal’. It’s those things that you can’t buy. The gravitas of Kenny Dalglish.”
Hibs owner Gordon, meanwhile, dropped a big hint that sacking Ross last December following a poor run of results was a mistake. Ross led Hibs to third place and a Scottish Cup final last season. Gordon said: “I could reassess that but I’d have to say yes. There were important lessons for me. I don’t want to say I’m not going to make mistakes going forward but the truth of the matter is that perhaps I’d re-evaluate some of the decisions that we made.”