Heckingbottom has high hopes for Hibernian
HIBERNIAN head coach Paul Heckingbottom believes the takeover of the club has arrived at the perfect moment.
The Easter Road outfit are now debt-free after US-based businessman Ronald Gordon bought out Sir Tom Farmer and chairman Rod Petrie this week.
And Heckingbottom, who watched his side claim a 3-1 victory in a pre-season friendly at Dunfermline yesterday, believes the club can now aim high.
‘There is excitement,’ he said. ‘The timing is excellent. It’s like a fresh start for everyone, so why not sell the club at the same time and have a proper fresh start?
‘It feels like the start of something. Not starting again and taking two steps back, but the start of something new where we can set bigger goals and (think) longer-term for players.
‘That’s different to when I came in, when we had loans and lots of contracts up. You couldn’t push beyond the next game, whereas now it’s a start and window by window, season by season, we want to try to improve.’
Hibs began this friendly in Fife in sloppy fashion.
With just four minutes played, Dunfermline striker Andy Ryan swung in a corner and Euan Murray headed home to give the Pars side the lead.
Adam Jackson replaced Paul Hanlon for Hibs at the break and the former Barnsley man equalised within three minutes of the restart from Stevie Mallan’s corner.
Heckingbottom’s side took the lead on 72 minutes from the spot after Lee Ashcroft bundled Daryl Horgan to the ground, with the Irishman slotting home the penalty.
Horgan then turned provider with 13 minutes left when his cross met Florian Kamberi, whose header made it 3-1.
Home boss Stevie Crawford said: ‘It was going to be a test but it was pleasing because we created chances.’