Lee Johnson insists he's committed to Hibernian long-term as he reflected on one year in the Easter Road hot seat.
Hibs still have the chance to secure European football with three Scottish Premiership games remaining after a disappointing eighth place finish last time out. And Johnson knows they’ve put themselves in brilliant position to have a pretty memorable season if they can win enough games and qualify for Europe. Johnson admits the fans would love a third place finish but even fifth could get continental football should Celtic beat Inverness CT in the Scottish Cup final next month.
Johnson has had to deal with injuries to key men, patchy runs of form and the death of executive chairman Ron Gordon this season but still has the Leith club fighting in the top half of the league. Asked for his reflections on the progress made during his first year at Hibs, Johnson said: “There’s probably a book in there, or certainly a chapter. I think we’re progressing, I genuinely do. It was a more difficult job than I anticipated looking at it from afar. When you’re then in the building you see there are a lot of good people but a lot of systems and processes that needed to improve.
“We talked a lot about our recruitment (previously) but I think that’s in a good place, well funded, well organised, well structured with good personnel. Recruitment is massive.
“The facilities are great but we’ve just spent £1 million on the pitches at Easter Road and at the training ground. And we’ve got progression in terms of making the top six and scoring more goals.
“Plus, we’ve had a very difficult season in terms of having our money on the pitch and having key players available. Overall, we’ve got ourselves in a position where we can deliver a form of success if we have a good six days next week.
“We’ve got the opportunity to qualify for Europe. I’d love it to have been in third, although that’s a real long shot. Fourth isn’t unrealistic, and fifth – if you’re a betting man – has a good chance, even though there’s a lot to do. We know Celtic have got to do the fifth-place team a favour (by beating Inverness in the Scottish Cup final), therefore we need to go and try to stake a claim for fourth place.”
Johnson says he is relishing his role in the Scottish capital and is eager to oversee sustained improvement in the coming years by bringing regular success on the pitch.
He continued: “I would love to be here for the long haul. I think it’s a brilliant club. The staff are fantastic, I like the dynamic at Easter Road and HTC (Hibs Training Centre).
"I feel like we’ve still got a lot to do, we’re not finished. A lot of that is finance permitting but success on the pitch brings greater finance and the great thing about this club is that there’s no money ever being taken out.
“It all replenishes and goes back into the right places for the good of the club in the long term. And I am a long-term manager.
"I’m not one of those that comes in as a quick firefighter and then I’m gone. I feel like sustained progression is very important for the long-term future of the club and that’s how I try and perform as a manager, by making the right decisions on a daily basis for the short, medium and long term.”
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