Marink Reedijk has vowed to entertain Hibernian supporters with an “intense and aggressive” playing style, but the newly appointed manager cautioned that patience will be required.
The 35-year-old Dutchman was announced on Thursday as David Gray’s successor in the Easter Road hot-seat after two fruitful seasons in charge of Belgian side Beveren.
Reedijk previously worked in academy and development roles, including at Ajax and West Brom, before holding senior coaching positions at KSV Roeselare, Vitesse, RSCA Futures and then Beveren.
The new manager, who will be assisted at Easter Road by fellow Dutchman Rogier Molhoek, will travel with the Hibs squad to La Manga on Saturday for a training camp as he prepares for his first match in charge away to Dundee United on October 10.
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“I want to be giving the fans the feeling that they can identify themselves with the team, and for me, how I see it, is that you need to be doing everything, and you have to leave everything on the pitch by being intense and aggressive but also proactive and brave,” Reedijk said in a club interview.
“But at the same time, I realise I don’t have a wand in my hand to change it overnight.
“This will take time, but over time I want our team to be dominant, proactive, aggressive, and intense but at the same time have this expressive and creative side of the game in order to entertain the fans and identify themselves with the team and the club.”
Reedijk left Beveren in June after leading them to an historic second-tier title triumph last term in which his side completed the campaign undefeated – the first time that has happened in any professional league in Belgium since 1934.
He believes the experience of his first senior managerial role will stand him in good stead for the challenges awaiting him at Hibs, who have had an underwhelming start to the campaign after back-to-back top-five finishes under Gray.
“Beveren gave me the opportunity to lead as a manager for the first time in an interesting period of the club, where we needed to bring an identity to the pitch, different to what it was in years before,” he said.
“We managed that first season quite well, then last season we were unbeaten champions and had an unbeaten season, and that was an amazing and very special year for me.
“Over the course of the summer, when you step back from it and step away from the club, you realise how special it is because then you start to realise this really happened and ask yourself, ‘Did we really do this?’ Whereas, when you’re in the moment, it’s the most common thing in the world.
“It was a very interesting and special year because it brought all kinds of different types of stresses, so to say, to the dressing room, to the coaching staff, and to the expectations around the club.
“That was really good to experience in order to also be ready for the next step.”
