NEW Hibernian manager John Hughes has revealed he will pick the brains of predecessor Mixu Paatelainen before meeting his players for the first time next month.
Hughes will welcome his squad back for pre-season training on 2 July and has already spoken of his excitement at working with the pool he has inherited.
However, he will also speak before then with Paatelainen, his former Easter Road team-mate, an
d the Finn's assistant, Donald Park, in a bid to hit the ground running in his new post. "I'll let it settle down at the moment but I'll definitely pick the brains of Mixu and Donald," said Hughes.
"I have to get character references on players and what they're good at and what they're not good at. That's just me keeping ahead of the game, but that phone call will definitely go in nearer to us starting back to pre-season training.
"Like myself at Falkirk, there's no hard feelings or animosity (between Paatelainen and Hibs]. I certainly don't think there will be anything like that from the Hibs fans.
"The two of them did a fantastic job for a number of years, Mixu as a player as well and Donald was a big part of the young kids coming through.
"It will just be character assessments, what players are good at, what their weaknesses are, their mood swings and their mindset. I'll just take that on board because it keeps me one step in front."
Hibs chairman Rod Petrie is delighted with the energising effect his new manager has had at Easter Road in his first few days in the job and is hopeful the enthusiasm of the born and bred Leither will be infectious.
"The first few days were hectic but very reassuring for everyone at the club," said Petrie. "John has a clear vision on what he wants his teams to do and how he wants them to play.
"He is very passionate about this club and has energised everyone who met him in his first few days, and we're sure we have the infrastructure in place that can support him in being an even better manager than he is at the moment.
"His vision and the clarity of his thoughts on what he wanted to do at Hibernian along with his passion and commitment were major factors in our appointing John. Everyone finds him infectious because of his enthusiasm for what he does and we all believe that he will take us forward.
"In looking for a manager we were considering what he could do for Hibernian and that was really the only criteria we thought to be important. The fact that he had a connection with Hibernian is history, the important thing is that John has almost 300 games under his belt as a manager and of even more importance is what he thought he could do with the fantastic stadium, training centre and the quality of players that we have in our squad."
Petrie added Hughes' track record of fielding young talent was a particular point of interest for the Hibs board.
"Bringing through young players is a very positive feature in terms of what John has done in the past, and he has seen that at Hibernian we have a treble-winning young team and I expect is excited by what they can bring to our club in the future."
Pressley pushes for Falkirk hotseatSTEVEN Pressley has admitted he is "very interested" in succeeding Hughes as Falkirk manager.
Pressley and Eddie May, who heads the club's youth development programme, have emerged as the leading contenders for the job, possibly as a partnership.
The Scotland assistant coach expressed his desire to become a manager when he announced his retirement earlier this month following his five-month playing spell at Falkirk.
"It's a fantastic club, a fantastic infrastructure," said Pressley. "I am very interested in the job. But I have to show Falkirk the respect. They have been going about their appointment in the right manner."
Falkirk veterans Jackie McNamara and Neil McCann have jointly applied while former Dundee manager Alex Rae has also been linked with the position. Dundee United assistant manager Peter Houston has also admitted he would consider the job, but he has not applied.
"It is on record that at one time I said that I would love to go back to Falkirk," said Houston, who spent more than a decade at the club as a player.
"You can sit in the comfort zone for a long, long time and there's always that thought about 'can you do it'? But I am not the type of person to chase the job as I have a great job with Craig Levein."
The full article contains 796 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
