Changing Times: Stephen Dunn

In the third of my series of interviews looking at life at Hibernian since the protests against Rod Petrie last summer, I spent some time with Stephen Dunn, who is a Director of Hibernian Supporters Limited, and recently re-joined the Board of Directors at Hibernian in a Non-Exec capacity. This interview took place just before Hibs' win over Raith Rovers at Easter Road in August.

How happy have you been with the response to HSL so far?

Absolutely fine, we're very pleased so far. We kicked off in the first week of February and had a nice lump of folk early on supporting it, and we've had steady growth right throughout the summer.

The first six months we passed the 900 mark. The membership grows when something significant happens - we get a signing- we get 10 - 15 folk joining; Alan Stubbs re-signing - we got a lump.
So as a board at HSL, we're very pleased and now it's about driving forward and getting more people to join.

What challenges have you had to overcome since launch?

I suppose the biggest challenge was the impact of events here from 12 months ago. Relegation is never an easy thing, those things stick in the minds of supporters, of everybody. 
We pushed against that, we pushed against the protests that were out there, so when we launched - was it a perfect time to launch? No. Is there ever a perfect time to launch? No, we just launched and once it was launched a lot of the protests and a lot of the concerns started to fade away because we started to answer the questions directly and honestly.

The way it's set up is very simple, we're not a protest group.We collect fans' money to buy shares, period. That's it. So as soon as we get money we have an exclusive subscription for shares with the club. We write to the club and say 'here's some money.', they write back saying 'here's a share certificate.'. Simple as that.

That simplicity of message made it easier as the months go on. Do you make mistakes, yes, we make mistakes. The admin system - does it work? Well there's seven of us, and probably three of us do most of the admin work.

At 55 I was introduced to Twitter and Facebook and stuff like that having never done it in my life, I've got a wee Facebook page that I do for the theatre but only for a few friends, you know - nobody reads it.
So, for me to be introduced to that was quite daunting and we made some mistakes, as you do. But as we went on people began to forgive us a bit more, people began to see when we handed money over and the club were beginning to sign players, and sign players early in early August soon after the season finished, that we were beginning to make an impact. So the winds against us faded a bit.

We also started to play good football again, and fans were beginning to see what was happening with the club, within the football operations what Alan was trying to achieve, and what Leeann, and George and the rest of the board were trying to achieve. They could see there was something in this.

Was it problematical? Not really. Were they heavy winds? Not really. Fans were beginning to see progress behind the scenes and on the park.

I remember early on especially on social media, a campaign against HSL, with talk of ponzi schemes and things like that. How damaging do you think that was?

There's an old saying in marketing that any publicity is good publicity. First of all it's not a ponzi scheme, absolutely not, so while you may feel personally insulted you have to let it go past you.

Sometimes the people that shout the loudest get heard, but the longer you go at it, the more consistent your message is, the more honest your message is, the more people believe you.

We focussed not on retaliating, but on our core messages - you give us money, we buy shares, the more shares we buy, the more control we get in the club. We focussed more on our message than what was said elsewhere.

How would you sum up how the benefits of HSL to the club?

Well the money goes directly to the club, firstly. If you look at other clubs, putting Hearts aside for a minute, because they deserve special mention, but at other clubs where there are similar schemes they're going into the market to buy shares from people who own shares. 

That means that the money goes to the people that own the shares and not necessarily to the football club.

The simple thing we have is we're buying shares directly from the club, so all the money bar a maximum of £2 administration fee from Go Cardless who do the banking side for us, goes directly to the football club, and that translates to known budgets, certainty for the manager and Leeann, so if they know they're getting an amount of money from us each month for a year and beyond then they can budget more appropriately
.
That's why, and I'm not saying it was all credit to us, they were able to sign players early, because they knew what the budget was going to be. There was a certainty about the money coming in not just from within the operations of the football club but through HSL and the wider share issue.

At one of the recent Working Together groups, Leeann presented a message about fan ownership. The big selling point has been about signing players, but do you think there's scope to push the fan ownership benefit?

We actually banged on about it, the social media is one avenue, but we found early on that you only get to a limited audience on social media.

Jim Adie used the phrase 'boots on the ground' and we started going along to the associations, talked directly to associations and fans along with Leeann etc, and we talked about not setting targets but there are hurdles. The first hurdle is 20% ownership because that gets us a seat on the board, the next hurdle is 25.1% because that gives you, negatively called, a blocking vote, but the board have to consider our view and can't just railroad something through.

We've tried to emphasise that, but emphasise it in a positive way rather than 'this is a blocking vote' because we have to work with the club to put the best product on the park, which is what it's all about.

So yes, we'll continue to do that but it's easier to do face to face than sitting on a website, or twitter, or a blog or whatever. We've got just over seven and a half thousand season tickets, and thirteen hundred likes or tweets or whatever. 

So that means we're not getting to people who could join up and those are the ones we need to target, we need to get a way of targeting them.

That's just one message, the big positive message is that the more money we can pass to the club, the better the product is.

How has the reaction to the 'boots on the ground' approach been?
It's been good, you do get people still doubting, still saying 'we're not coming back until certain things change.' and I always say that we have no responsibility over that.

Our job is to raise money and buy shares,and if you want rid of anybody then the more shares, the more control, and if we get to 51% then we have control of the board.

Generally it's been favourable. I give great credit for this to Jim Adie. He felt that we could say things on Twitter and Facebook and it wouldn't really address directly some of the issues that were being heard against us.

Face to face we could look people in the eye and say 'That is wrong. You are wrong, this is what we're trying to achieve and this how we're trying to do it.' Whether they were converted or not, it doesn't really matter. What does matter was that we had credibility.

We went along en mass, the entire board - unless Charlie (Reid)was away touring - we went and spoke passionately as Hibs supporters first, then as HSL Board Directors, and we appealed our facts, and the simplicity of our message. And this did have an effect
.
One of the big boosts was St Pats joining, was the Australian branch joining, was the Hibs Supporters Association actually joining and giving us a major contribution, and that gives us a real credibility amongst the fans, and that's how it's gone.

I saw some opposition to HSL from St Pats' members early on on hibs.net, it must have been a big boost to get them onboard given their influence?

It was a key one, people are allowed to have their opinion, nobody's saying they can't have an opinion. All we ask is that if they don't like it that they don't interfere with it.

We just ask for a fair hearing and a fair chance, and the ability to put the right answers to some of the questions that have been asked, but if people don't want to join, they don't want to join.
The same with fan ownership. Some people will want it, some people won't, it's as simple as that. 

With the ownership comes responsibility, which brings us back to Hearts. Their supporters have embraced the responsibility of funding their football club. £140,000 a month they're putting into the football club through the Foundation of Hearts, and that's just to run it, that's not getting them shares. 

That responsibility of ownership means you might be asked for more money in the future. I'm a believer in the democracy of fans having a greater say in the club and indeed ownership, but it's up to the fans to decide whether they want to do it or not. You can't ask that question of HSL, you have to ask the fans and then listen to the answer.

How much has HSL put to the club so far?

In terms of money going in, it's £150,000 for the first six months, that figure broadly doubles over the next six month, so looking at £250,000-£300,000 ,which is new money, which is the key point.

It's not recycled money from season tickets or walk-ups, it's new money. Fans have put their hands in their pockets and it's new money that we've not had before. And if we keep growing then that money continues to grow.

It's a virtuous cycle for the club because it's new money coming in and it allows them to think about 'well, that would have been our player budget last year and the year before , but we didn't have this money, so it's now that plus the new money.' So that's the tangible benefit that HSL has had in the club.

I also think we've had some involvement in turning some of the negativity around a bit. I think the club has worked hard, I know Leeann and the comms team -  Colin Millar particularly, worked hard meeting the fans and answering very plainly some of the concerns either through the website or in meetings.

I think we've also had some of the responsibility for changing some of the attitudes. Some you'll never change, that's life. So those two things, money and the changing face of the fans' opinions about the club.

If we can talk about you now, you were a former board member and have re-joined - what happened there?

I was a board member after we were relegated last time, so perhaps they feel I might have some skills at Championship football. Last time I was book-ended by Alex McLeish and Tony Mowbray, and that was a particularly big change in the club as well. People tend to forget those days.Some of the fan opinions were just as vocal, and some of the protests just as hard as in the last year.

I did, I think, seven or eight years. I'm a great believer that if you stay too long, you're no longer independent, and one of the key roles of the Non-Exec is to be independent, and to be able to support and challenge the Executive to say "Are you doing the right things, is this the right way?"

That first period, for me,  there came a point where you weren't really making the difference that you should be making, so I left the board at that time. I had a period off, my wife unfortunately died, she'd been ill for a long time, all these things come together, so in 2007 when I left the board, I had a nice long period in between. I continued to come to games, I continued to support the club, I continued to do things for the club in the background.

I'm a do-er, the way it came about was that the board decided well before Leeann actually arrived at the football club, that things needed to change. They saw it. They could see the way it was going, and then relegation happened.

So they'd already decided that structurally the club needed to change, they needed supporters back on board  somehow, and part of that was the appointment of Leeann. 

Leeann brought along an agenda - a very good agenda, and transformed football operations at the club. There was already a view about a flotation, a share issue, before Leeann came. Regulations changed, we got relegated, things were put on the back-burner a bit. There was the BuyHibs initiative out there, and what eventually became HSL was out there. Around about October/November last year, I was approached to see if I could be a bridge between the club and the people behind the original HSL stuff, including Jim Adie.

I said 'Of course, I'll do that', the birth of HSL came about that Christmas. I acted as the middle-man to get Jim and the people behind his initiative to sit down with the club, and then just do what I do which was to drive things until they actually start.

During the course of that period I might have succeeded a bit, and having the experience I know how the football club operates and I think that was an important factor. I know how things get done at the club and the nuances and the likes, even though there's a lot of changes. 

That was useful from an HSL perspective and then Rod, as Chairman, said it might be a good idea if I came back on board.

With six/seven years more experience of business, my kind of view of the club had changed, and I felt I was more independent, I was able to really question some of the things being done. Also the experiences and learning of that '98-2006 period directly related to some of the things being done today.

The history of the club I know inside out, with the work with Tom Wright and the Historical Trust allowed me to say "Before you do that, you might want to think about this." So I think they found that quite valuable. 

I also retired from work, I'm not that old but I was in a position where I could stop work, so I'm at the club at least two or three days a week helping directly, so they thought I would be useful sitting on the Board as well, so that's how it came about.

How have you found it since?
It's like it was, I remember my first game I attended as a director originally, was Greenock Morton, and the responsibility hits you as you walk out onto that deck. There's lots of good ones, the 6-2, the Millennium derby, but you feel the full weight of every goal against you as a Board Director, but it's a challenge, and I like a challenge. 

The club's done lots of things right, and I think in amongst all the noise that's been out there in the last two or three years, people have forgotten that there are a lot of things right at this football club and it just needs a few things to put it on the right path again.

That challenge I really enjoy. I enjoy my football, and that challenge of helping this great club get back to where it should be is something that excites me, and I love it. And of course, being on this board with Frank is a great honour.(Said as Frank Dougan entered the room!). 

What message would you have for anyone thinking about getting on board with HSL?
It's quite simple - join if you can. I do actually mean if you can, we don't want to be irresponsible and ask people for money that they can't afford. We do realise that people, supporters, buy season tickets, buy tickets, buy merchandise, and in reality spend proportionately a lot of money on Hibs. 

Buy if you can, not only are you helping the football operation but you're helping create a bigger group with a bigger percentage in the club. It's a bit like a trade union, there's a power in togetherness. 

It's the same with the football club, if we're all going in the same direction it's more powerful.

HSL, the more members we get, the more shares we get, the more voice we get. But don't be irresponsible, let's be clear about that.

The message for me, is this is a great club. Football's cyclical. There's another team of eleven men out there trying to beat you so can't guarantee anything. But what I've seen, in the time I've been back, is a restructure of the football operation, better use of the training facilities, signing players to a structure that Alan wants to have in here, and putting in place a football operation so that when Alan inevitably leaves to go to another football club, it's easier to bring someone else in and that whole operation is maintained. 

That's all the great things that are already here, and to be part of that is wonderful, and HSL is a big part in that, so please get on board. 

I would like to thank all at Hibernian FC for their time with the interviews, and especially Frank Dougan, Amit Moudgil, Stephen Dunn, and Colin Millar for arranging them.

Changing Times : Amit Moudgil

This is the second part of my series of blogs looking at the inside perspective of life at Hibernian FC since the protests against Rod Petrie at Easter Road in the summer of 2014.

Since then, Leeann Dempster has made several sweeping changes at the football club, including appointing two supporter-elected representatives onto the board of Directors. I had some time with one of those Directors, Amit Moudgil, ahead of Hibs' 2-0 win, where he gave me some insight into his role and what changes he's seen at Easter Road since coming on board.

Tell me about your experience in the role so far.

It's been great, it's been an eye-opener, it's been exciting, it's been challenging. Hard work, as well. It's been excellent - I've really enjoyed it. Above all, it's been an absolute privilege, as a supporter when you go from sitting in your seat to coming in to help, taking that view that you and your pals have sitting next to each other and everyone else that's sat round the table talking about Hibs and being able to do something with that is really powerful for the fans, so it's been great. 

How have you gone about doing that?

I've tried to be as inventive as possible. I've tried to make myself as accessible as possible and as open as possible to people, so attending various meetings, whether it was Working Together - and I'll be the first to admit that I'd never attended a Working Together meeting before joining the board, not because I didn't want to but because I didn't really know what it was about. I started to attend them when I came onto the board and it quickly became apparent that the format had lost its way a bit and needed to be refreshed, so a few of us got together and drew up a battle plan to re-energise that whole thing.
For me, up until the relegation season loads of folk felt they had been grinded down and grinded down by just what's gone on in the last seven or eight years at the club. You can understand why people are staying away because there were so many more reasons not to come to the football club than there were to come to the football club. 
Towards the end of last year I had a meeting with George Craig - for about four hours - about how to raise funds for the Academy, but it turned out in the end that I took on a volunteer job with Graeme Mathie with the recruitment side of things - so co-ordinating scouts, and I'm still doing that today on a weekly basis.
We revamped the whole structure. Towards the end of last year, there weren't enough people, there was myself doing 13's to 17's, co-ordinating eight scouts trying to cover as many games as possible. It was very difficult. 
With the goodwill towards the club we've been able to bring in more people and that's helped me fall back in love with the club, and I felt re-energising Working Together and getting people to get involved with the workstreams and groups would get them to fall back in love with the club, too.
That's just one thing, another thing is being more visible on match days. I go to the Hibs Club before and after games, just walking around speaking to people I've never spoken to.
 I'm a confident guy so I don't feel nervous talking to people I don't know. If I'm up at the bar I'll end up chatting to someone in the queue and I'll ask if I can sit with them. It's never a problem, they really enjoy it.
They don't know who I am, I came from nowhere in the Hibs community, really. I only went with my own group of friends so it's really good to get out there and chat to people who might not have seen me round the Hibs Club before. It's good now, I've started to recognise people and they recognise me. They think it's brilliant having a Director coming to chat to people in the Hibs Club. For me, I just like to talk about Hibs, and as Hibs supporters we could do that all day. I don't think anyone would tire of that. 
I'll do walkarounds in Behind the Goals or in the stands. Today I'll sit in my own seat in the East, I still have my season ticket and just because I have a seat here (in the West) every week,it doesn't mean I want to use it. 
For me, importantly, the big change is I attend more away games. I'm probably not alone in that, a lot of people who'd go to away games would go in big groups. A lot of my friends couldn't afford to go every week, so we'd plan a few away games throughout the season. It'd be the usual, Aberdeen away or ones where you had good memories from the day out and the trip.So now, I try to go to as many away games as I can.
First and foremost I still want to get the experience, the reason I put myself forward is that I wanted to take these supporter views and put them forward at board level,  but I think you also have to understand what your role is.
You can't just think 'I'm a supporter', you have to think 'I'm a supporter but my responsibility to take your view and everyone else that is there, what are these people worrying about?'. 
So I've tried a 'Director on the bus' thing, where I travel on the buses, I'll pick a different bus every week to go to games, so I've got a captive audience for an hour or however long the trip is. I just walk up and down the bus, chat to people. I'm all club-tied up so for me, because I'm not as well know as Frank, for example, in the wider Hibs community, it's important for me to be recognised as someone who's representing the fans at the club.
It's been really good, really great, and if they've got a bowling club that they go to before the game, then I'll go there as well, and I'll sit and have a juice with them as well. For me, it's about bonding, and listening to them, the people that go to away games might not go to the Hibs Club every week, it's about being as accessible as possible, and that's what I've been trying to do.
Then online as well, it's difficult, I can't be on hibs.net or the bounce or wherever every day, I have an app on my phone if I'm on the bus on my way to work, or have a bit of time  I can just get through what's going on, particularly if people have sent me messages or highlighted my name.
I try my best to be wherever I can, I have to try and go to the people, and be their conduit, so I need to allow them the opportunity to speak to me.

What would you say have been your successes since coming on board?

Working Together has been a huge success, I stood at one of the meetings and spoke to Greig Mailer after a few meetings and said we had to change it. We wanted people to fall back in love with the club again, and that's what I did doing the recruitment work with Graeme Mathie, George Craig and Eddie May. 
You don't know how powerful that is, to fall back in love with the club again. It allows you then to get over the hard days, maybe Stranraer midweek where we won the game but people came away thinking 'we could have done a lot better there.' I think, for me, falling back in love with the club allows you to bear those little dips when they happen.
So I think that's been one, but generally just getting about hearing different people's views. I have listened to a lot of people who I might never have spoken to or had a reason to speak to,  now I feel I have a responsibility to do that.
One success is that more people are feeding in to me so I get a much better idea of exactly what their view is. It doesn't matter if you're a Hibs fan on this scale or that scale, a pessimist or an optimist, the guy that goes to every game and the guy that goes to no games. I'll keep in touch with folk that don't go to games and that's just as important. The success has been trying to bring people back together. I have one mate who's so stubborn about not wanting to come back and we've got a Whatsapp group and I just continually work on him.
I guess other successes, even before I was on the board, is revamping the structure for scouting for the youth academy. So we have a new set-up where I'm a sort of administrator and I have three folk that feed in to me, and we've split in such a way where there's not such a work load on myself.
I have my own job that I do 9-5, average 40 hours a week, have to do the board stuff and this stuff, so doing these things that I'm working on but I think the success is being able to deliver on what I think I'm meant to be doing. 
I think in a year's time if I'm not re-elected or if don't choose to be re-elected then I can hold my head high and say that I've genuinely tried to make myself as available as possible. 
Social media is something that I had went off, I had moved into a new role and thought social media was quite a dangerous place to be. I wanted to be more client-facing so had a bit of a cleanse, there wasn't anything controversial or anything, I think it was just a case of I wasn't on Facebook, I wasn't on Twitter, but what I've now done purely because I need to be an avenue for all supporters whether you're old or young or social media savvy or not, I need to be available. 
I think my biggest success has been getting out there and listening to people, going to the people - I think that's important. I might sit next to someone today in the stand but it might not be the best time  for them to talk to me about things. It might be that I might need to take the time to go to them and sit with them when they've got time to talk about it rather than me saying 'well it's convenient for me to sit in my seat and listen to you even though you might not want me to sit here asking questions.' 
For me, it's important and the success is going there and it shows people you care about their opinion. At Dumbarton away, I sat next to this guy and he sent me a message afterwards - I didn't know his name on the messageboards - he said it was so refreshing that you can just sit there and hear about what's going on at the club and give feedback. 
For me, I'm as passionate as the next guy but that doesn't mean I shouldn't listen to the next guy. I should listen to everyone. For me that's the biggest success, and really participating in the board meetings. I might be the youngest guy on the board, I might be the guy who's not as well known as everyone else on the board but I think that by the time I do leave I'm pretty sure I'll leave my mark in the boardroom and they'll know exactly where I'm coming from. 
I'm not one of these guys that's easily phased at all. Age, experience, it doesn't matter to me, I'm a clever guy I know exactly how to get people's opinions across in the right way so that they're heard correctly. Some people think that if they rant and rave, or if they talk quietly - they think they're both powerful in their own way and you can take those messages and ensure they're both heard. 

How did you find that first board meeting that you had?

I was excited. In the industry I've worked in for nine and a half years, and for the last six years I do a lot of client meetings. On the Wednesday before the Stranraer game I was in Glasgow presenting to fifty clients as one of the key presenters. Those situations don't phase me, I maybe get excited more than anything else, there's a wee bit nerves, but the first time I went in, the first thing I thought was that I had preconceptions and I wondered 'what are they going to be like?' 
Actually, to be honest there were people on the board that I had no idea who they were. I genuinely had no idea of their background, didn't know what they did. There were only a couple that I knew of or knew what they did, so it was interesting. 
After about five/ten minutes it felt like most meetings that I've been in, albeit more interesting because it was about Hibs and about football, but then again I treated it like any other meeting that I've been in. I treated it with respect and importance, and with responsibility that I have.
I'm one of these guys that as a board member I need to be responsible, so you get all the board papers the day before so I went through all of those, tried not to leave any stone unturned, and if there's a question, I'll ask that question.
It was exciting, I went in and I thought "Wow, this is actually happening.", but for me, that went away very quickly because it's not about me, it's  about everybody, It's about every Hibs fan that talks to me or gets in touch with me, or I read about or see what they're saying, like your blog or Jamie Montgomery's blog, or anyone that's doing stuff.
It very quickly comes down to me being able to fulfil that purpose and ensure that no matter what decisions are being made that I'm making them with a more informed point of view than some of the other directors, because they're putting in from their own expertise, mine and Frank's expertise is to be the voice of the fans, and we need to have that voice heard in the boardroom, so we need to know exactly what the fans want. 
To be fair, we are heard. There are no issues. Everyone's driving in the same direction. People are aware that the club is working very much together and it's all very positive. 
Don't get me wrong, there are hard times when you come out and see the hard work that you do and it's maybe not reflected on the park or it's not happening on the stands, but do you know what, that's something that we need to deal with as a club and it's for us to drive that, we have to make people want to come back.

How much has your role improved the connection between the support and the club?

I would say, if I only talk about my own friends here as an example and it'd probably reverberate throughout all my experiences, and you've got to remember I'm talking to people I've never spoken to before and I'm talking to them  for the first time, so first impressions count and it's not like I'm there saying things just to flatter people, it's straight from the heart because it's about us and the way I feel about the club. 
I think I've genuinely made a good... a better bond, even guys in my smaller group, it was them that I looked to before I joined. I said "Guys, I'm falling back in love with the club, doing this stuff with Graeme, this opportunity has come up to do something with the board, do you think I should go for it?", and they said "Amit you're definitely the right guy for it, you've got this, this, and this, you should go for it. We think you can be the person for the voice." 
If folk on my Whatsapp group are feeling down I'll come on and say a few things, and one of the guys will turn round and say 'That's why you are where you are, because you've got to look at the big picture.'
It's hard to see beyond16:45 on a Saturday, but when you let the dust settle, and what you say and what you'll achieve with what you're doing that's going to allow people to see exactly that there might be a disappointment there, but there are amazing things happening at the club that you know a little bit about, but I can see all the things happening and when you see these things in totality you can see it's like a huge wave of change coming along. 
That's just the feedback from my friends. Having a bit of feedback from people on the bus before games, or in the Hibs Club, or on Twitter, an email, someone will just say "That was really good, it's great to have someone on board who's making the effort."
You've got to go out and do it, it's not just Amit going out and going to the games. I thought I'd only wear a suit five days a week for my job, but I feel really proud going out my house with the club tie on.

What would you say to supporters who are maybe reluctant to come back?

I don't want this to be a big one, I want to let this one resonate.  I would say that the past is the past, we can't change that. We've all been there, we've all been hurt. There's things that we've all not been happy about, but if you speak to someone who's going to games regularly, or has contact with the club, if they're coming to Working Together or doing something of their own accord, you are the people that can deliver that message. Look, come back and see that it's night and day. I'll ask people when was the last time Hibs had a side that was nearly the same core as the season before?
It's always been change, and change, and change. That's just one small thing. Most people who go to a game, one game, or even read about that, you can see that we've managed to hold on to someone or bring in other players. 
Give the club a chance, that's just one thing. Come along and speak to us at the club, it's a far more open door policy. It's our club, we decide what we want to do with it, if you want to come and back it, then come and do it. I can understand that there are people who have their reasons not to, but I'll do my best to convince them that there are more reasons to come back than not to.

Many thanks again to Amit, Frank Dougan, Stephen Dunn, and Colin Millar for their time.

Changing Times : Frank Dougan

It has been around fourteen months since angry Hibernian fans gathered outside the West Stand at Easter Road to protest against Rod Petrie's involvement with the club. Hibs had just been relegated after an appalling run under then-manager Terry Butcher, and the club was at its lowest ebb in many years.

While the protesters made their feeling known, inside Easter Road Leeann Dempster - Hibernian's newly appointed Chief Exec - met with a group of supporters to introduce herself and to try and convey what she was hoping to achieve at Hibernian.

Since then, the 'wind of change' has swept through Easter Road. A new regime is in place, Butcher has been replaced by Alan Stubbs and his coaching team, the youth set up has altered, and Hibs recruited a 'Head of Football Operations' in George Craig as the whole club was shaken up.

Hibs finished second in the league last season, reaching the quarter finals of the League Cup, and the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in the process. Although promotion eluded them, it is a very different Hibernian that you see today, to the one that slumped to play-off defeat against Hamilton to find themselves relegated.

I have been fortunate enough to have been given access to some of the Hibernian staff to explore how the club has changed in their eyes since Leeann Dempster took charge.

The first of this series of blogs is an interview with Frank Dougan, who was elected onto the Board of Directors as a supporters' representative, along with Amit Moudgil.

I had met Frank before, but had never taken the opportunity to have any kind of conversation with him, and so I was really interested to get to know Frank better and to understand more about his views on the club. You can tell within minutes of talking to him just how passionate Frank is about Hibernian, and it's not hard to understand why he was elected to the role by his fellow supporters. If you cut Frank, he'd bleed green, and his desire to see Hibs back where they belong was evident throughout the interview.

Now you've had a chance to get your feet under the table in your role, tell me about the experience so far.
The experience has been fantastic, bar the football. Nothing has been held back,and we've been told every single thing. I try to get to all the games, the only one I don't get to is Tynecastle - but that's a long story. I don't like sitting in the director's box, to be honest I prefer sitting amongst the fans and I try to do that as much as possible. I'm there for anyone that wants to speak to me. I get a lot of good suggestions, a lot of criticism as well, but the majority is positive. When people are face to face it's positive. Keyboard warriors really do worry me, there's people out there with an agenda and it doesn't matter what Hibs do, they're going to criticise. If we're winning the Premiership - why are we not winning by more points, if we score ten goals and concede one, it's why did we concede one. It doesn't matter, they have a negative agenda and they're not prepared to do anything, and that really worries me.

How damaging do you think those people are?
I think at the moment they're quite damaging because we've not got off to the best start this season, but I can categorically assure you that people like Alan Stubbs, George Craig, and Graeme Mathie, are working so, so hard to find players to bring in, and it's not easy. There's a budget. We have to realise that there's a budget and the only way to increase that budget is for people to turn up. When I look at last season I had four criteria. First and foremost I wanted to see us sign better players, well we've done that. Second I wanted to see us play better football - well that wouldn't be hard, but we've done that. Third,  I wanted to see us get to the play-offs, and we did. And fourth I wanted decent runs in the cup, which we did. I know we got to a semi final and a quarter final, and the two games against Falkirk and Dundee United I thought we played well and were unlucky in both games. We finished second in the league, we were second top scorers. I thought we did ok. I can't understand why people don't turn up to the games and that frustrates me. 

I asked that question through pre-season on hibs.net - what would make people come back? Why do you think some people are hesitant to back the team? 
There's 1300 people who haven't renewed from last season, and we're actually up on season ticket numbers overall, so why are these people not coming back? I was one of the people that phoned round and yes, there were half a dozen people who had a brother that wasn't well, or were moving to Canada. One guy had just had a baby so couldn't afford it - he's still going to come just not as often. I can understand that. But not to the extent of what we are, surely if you bought a season ticket last year, you got it when we were relegated but you'll not get one this year? Alright we're in the same division but we're seeing better football, more attacking football. Seeing the football that I love, that I was brought up on. And people are using excuses like Rod Petrie's still there, Tom Farmer's still there - I'm sorry but it's so petty. The changes in the club since Leeann Dempster came, and don't forget, Rod Petrie and Tom Farmer built the stadium - not them personally, but they made it happen. We've got the stadium, we've got the training facilities. I'm not singing their praises because I think there's been a lot of bad management in the past, and I'm not saying they're not responsible for bad decisions. Don't forget that Rod Petrie brought in Leeann last February, and she's been a breath of fresh air.  One of the things I said to Leeann at the tail end of last season when she stood up for the club against the SFA for the play-off prices, and cut the Rangers' allocation - it was really good. 

What's your background as a Hibs fan?
My great grandfather was one of the members of the CYMS that founded Hibs, he wasn't part of the Hibs team, but he was part of the Catholic Young Men's Society that founded Hibernian Football Club. My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father, my brothers, my nephews. There's no choice. My first Hibs game - I was 18 months old. My mother was heavily pregnant with my brother and my father was told to look after me, so he took me to Easter Road. We beat Partick 2-1, not that I remember anything of the game. The first time I can remember crying my eyes out at Hampden at the 58 Cup Final against Clyde. I thought all we had to do was turn up to beat them. We got beat 1-0, my dad told me at that point "Don't worry, there's plenty time, we'll win it one day." Now, my dad's been dead a number of years and he never saw it. I just hope that one day...

How much of a challenge did you find it moving from a prominent supporter role to the board?
I found it quite easy, actually. I was quite vocal when I was Treasurer for the Hibs Supporters Club, I was Spokesman for the Hibs Supporter's Association. There was a lot of controversy over that period and I stood up for what I thought was right. The one thing I never did, and would never do, is do the dirty washing about Hibs in public. I've had my discussions with Mr Farmer and Mr Petrie in the past, and some of the discussions have been quite volatile, and I don't see that changing. If I think it's wrong, I'll state it. I'm happy to go along with what I'm seeing at the moment because what I'm seeing - the vast majority of what I'm seeing, is very positive, even if some fans don't always see it.

Where any of your pre-conceptions about the club altered when you saw it up close?
Not really, because I've always been close to the club. I was involved with Club 86, then the Hibernians after that, then the Historical Trust when it started up. Plus the fact that I've known a lot of people, I've always been fortunate to be friendly with players, likes of Pat Stanton, Jimmy O'Rourke, Eric Schaedler, Alex Cropley, John Blackley, John Brownley, I grew up with these boys,  I used to go on nights out with them, over the years I've been lucky enough to know them. Even people like Paul Kane and George Stewart - I've known them all. Mickey Weir and Keith Wright, been to weddings and Christenings and that sort of thing, so I've been lucky and had an insight into what's happened at the club through them. I was very much on the periphery but I was very hands on with Hands Off Hibs.

So you came in with your eyes open, have there been any surprises?
The amount of work that goes on behind the scenes outside of the football. There's an awful lot of work goes on and it's so positive. What I can see has been achieved in the last year. I mean Cecil Graham, when he ran the club - and he did run the club on his own - now you look at the staff and it's phenomenal, and that's the business. When you look at the stadium, it's used 90 hours a year - or it was, now you see the work to generate more money through it's usage, and it has to happen. 

How would you describe the progress since Leeann came in?
Fantastic, absolutely fantastic, it took Leeann to come on board for the club to stand up for itself. She's been a total, total breath of fresh air, a total change of direction. Bringing in Alan Stubbs, George Craig, Graeme Mathie, all the people behind the scenes Joe McBride for the under 20's, Eddie May running the Academy. All these people have made a big, big difference. Unfortunately there had to be a clear out to allow these people to come in, and Leeann's facilitated that.

How do you see your role developing?
I've said it before and I'll say it again, if there's a winning team on the park nobody gives a monkey's who's a Director. I'd like to think that's the case. All of us as Directors have to make it so that everything for the manager or head coach and his staff is in place. If that's generating money that's what we need to do. As far as the football - I'm a fan, a fanatic, however you want to put it. I just want to see the football and whatever I can do to help the coaches achieve that goal, I'll do it. I'll do anything and everything I can to support that.

What would you say to fans that are hesitant to come back?
The only way that this club is going to go forward is for these fans to come back. It's so easy to criticise but if you do that there's no point. The only way you're going to change it is from the inside, not the out. The only way we can do that is people turning  up. If they're not turning up, then don't slag them, don't be a keyboard warrior. Also you don't have to turn up every week, you can buy into HSL, buy shares, all that money's going into Hibs. I wouldn't be here if I thought for one minute that money wasn't going to the manager, and that's something that's got to be achieved. Give the team a chance, the more people that come, the better it is, the more money we have to buy better players, to keep players. The board have bent over backwards to back the manager. 

Frank took time at the end of the interview to ask me to convey his thanks to the Hibernian Disabled Supporter's Association for involving him in their meetings, and to pass on his praise for the great work that they're doing.

I'd also like to thank Colin Millar, Frank Dougan, Amit Moudgil, and Stephen Dunn for their time and patience in making these interviews happen.

So a Season Starts..

Hibernian bounced back from a tumultuous couple of weeks with a comfortable League Cup win against Montrose on Saturday. Hibs haven't had their troubles to seek over the last fortnight, fending off Rangers in their bid to lure Scott Allan west in the week leading up to their embarrassing 2-6 defeat to the Glasgow side in the Petrofac Training Cup.

Despite Hibs' repeated assertions that Allan would not be sold to Rangers, a second bid was received and promptly rejected, with rumblings of a third bid continuing to populate the sports press in Scotland, although Rangers manager Mark Warburton has himself refused to confirm any third bid.

The issue clearly had an impact on Hibs, Allan started that match on the bench, leaving an already depleted side further weakened. Allan came on in the second half to replace Jordon Forster, who appeared to have been injured following a late challenge, and although individually Allan's performance was positive, the side collapsed as Rangers ran rampant.

If that was a week to forget for Hibs, the gloom continued into the following week when Allan handed in a written transfer request, which was subsequently rejected by Leeann Dempster and Alan Stubbs. Hibs, it would be fair to say, came out swinging with some bold, chest-thumping statements making clear their position that they were not prepared to weaken their own side at the Ibrox's side benefit.

Hibs' response has largely found favour amongst their own supporters. For too long, the Hibs support have seen their best talent moved on, only to be replaced by players of an inferior quality. It is not an approach that has served the football club well, and resulted in a steady downward trajectory from the high point of their CIS Insurance Cup win back in 2007.

The digging in of the heels and steadfast refusal to buckle under intense pressure was another positive indication that Dempster and Stubbs are doing more than just paying lip-service towards Hibs' promotion aspirations this season. Prior to the Allan saga, Hibs movements in the transfer market had been positive, the signing of Fraser Fyvie represented a real coup for the club as Fraser is undoubtedly well equipped to perform in the Scottish Premiership, and there was interest from several clubs eager to bring him on board. Yet he chose Hibernian, clearly sold on the ambition of Stubbs and Dempster. The signing of James Keatings from city rivals Hearts was as surprising as it was welcome, and was a further sign that Hibs are building a strong squad for the coming campaign.

The charm offensive has continued following the rejection of Allan's transfer request, as Hibs have sought to regain the positivity that was engulfing the club prior to Rangers' approach for Allan. A contract extension for Alan Stubbs and his coaching team was warmly welcomed by the support, and this was followed by the announcement that former St Mirren player, and Scotland Under-21 star, John McGinn had signed, with Hibs having met St Mirren's valuation of the player with the minimum of fuss or fanfare. McGinn had a number of options both at home and abroad, so his signing again represents tangible evidence that Dempster's priorities lie firmly in giving Alan Stubbs the best possible chance of returning Hibernian to the top flight of Scottish football.

Any decision to sell Allan to Rangers would have been preposterous, the notion that Hibs would risk their own title aspirations to enhance those of the club seen as their main title rivals is ridiculous. Simply put, had Hibs agreed to the move, the steady trickle of season ticket renewals would likely have halted at that point, and the good feeling that Dempster has worked tirelessly to bring to the support would have evaporated, with any trust being promptly lost.

Instead, Hibs have played their hand well, and can hopefully turn the situation to their advantage. Hibs are expected to announce the signings of Keith Watson and former Rangers youth player Rhys McCabe  in the coming days if rumours are to be believed, and if Dempster and Stubbs can continue to demonstrate the link between supporters backing the club and the club being able to do such business, then they may find that the steady season ticket trickle turns into a healthy flow of renewals and new take-ups.

Stubbs deserves a mention at this point for how he has handled Scott Allan. It was right to start Allan on the bench against Rangers. Neither Allan nor Stubbs were in a position where a positive outcome was likely. Stubbs, if he had started Allan would have put the player in a position where the reactions of both sets of supporters would have caused an unwelcome distraction, and leaving him out altogether would only have fuelled the fires suggesting that the transfer was imminent.

Stubbs left Allan on the bench for the cup win against Montrose as well, and his  decision to introduce Allan midway through the second half meant that Allan's introduction into the fray was very open, very public, and invited the support to make their feelings known. The reaction was mixed, a few boos could be heard but these were largely replaced by applause, with the Easter Road faithful choosing to back rather than barrack their player. Scott's first touches on the ball were met with a similar response, though a moment of magic from the player had the Hibs support on their feet when he fired Hibs into a two goal lead. Nothing wins the fans round quicker than a good performance on the pitch.

Hibs' performance was comfortable without ever reaching the heights of some of their performances last season. New signing Marvin Bartley impressed, providing the midfield with the strong ball-winner that they missed last season. The side that finished the game had a real look of the development squad, with Stubbs using the game to blood a few youngsters, who, while playing their part in the win, still look short of the standard required to mount a title campaign at this very early stage in their careers.

Stubbs later admitted to Hibs TV that although he was pleased to be able to give some game-time to the young players, his hand had been somewhat forced with an injury list that contains the likes of Martin Boyle, Dan Carmichael, Farid El Alagui, James Keatings, Jordon Forster, and Dominique Malonga. With the Scott Allan situation depriving Stubbs of Allan's services in the early stages of the game, it left the Hibs boss with little in the way of cover.

In fairness to those that did play, they moved the ball relatively well with only occasional sloppiness in their passing. The home side, as would be expected, dominated from first whistle to last , with Montrose content to sit in and try to frustrate Stubbs' men. Scott Martin clipped home Hibs' opener, the youngster's composed finish looked more like that of an experienced first teamer than that of a young man enjoying only his second competitive start for the first team.

It was, though, the introduction of Scott Allan that lifted the Hibs side. It is not hard to understand why Rangers were so keen to secure his services, aside from what he would bring to their side, what it would take from Hibs is almost as relevant. Allan injected some pace and directness to the proceedings, picking passes that opened up the Montrose defence, and embarking on mazy runs that pulled players out of position leaving space for his colleagues to exploit.

Jason Cummings, who had led the line splendidly all afternoon, rounded off the win with a fine shot on the turn from inside the box. I felt that Cummings looked like all he had to his game was goals last season (hardly a bad thing for a striker, indeed, such a bad thing that he finished the Championship's top scorer at the tender age of 19!), however he looked stronger, fitter, and more intelligent in his play on Saturday. I was impressed with his understanding of when to come deep, and when not to. He brought others into play well, and looked for any opportunity to get a shot away.

Cummings, who was celebrating his 20th birthday, richly deserved his goal as a reward for his contribution. The goal was his second in consecutive competitive games, and few would bet against him topping the goal-scoring charts this season again.

Hibs now look forward to Saturday's league opener at Dumbarton. With a few of the injured players getting closer to match readiness, Hibs are now well equipped to mount a serious challenge to Rangers' title hopes. If Hibs can indeed keep this squad together, and get more fans back on board for the ride, then Hibs will be in a great position to put the darkness of the last couple of weeks well and truly behind them.

Ambition versus Potential

I attended the excellent and informative open day at Easter Road Stadium this afternoon, put on by the Hibs Historical Association as part of the Leith Festival. The day was a great insight into the history and traditions of Hibernian, and showcased the heights at which Hibs once performed.

Hibs record attendance is 65,860, set on the 2nd of January, 1950 against Hearts at a time when Hibs were a formidable force in Scottish football, with the Famous Five entertaining large crowds on a regular basis, and with Easter Road proving a challenging venue for even the greatest of European visitors.

These days, Easter Road has a much reduced capacity. The modernisation of the stadium into an all-seater venue means that, when full, Easter Road now holds 20,421 - and it's rare that the stadium sells out.

Seeing a model of the stadium in its old form and thinking about what it must have been like to have stood on the steep embankments of the old East terracing brought about thoughts about how much potential there actually is at Hibernian, and whether or not that potential is matched by the ambition at the club. The question could also be asked the other way around - does the ambition overstretch the potential?

In modern Scottish football, crowds of 60,000 plus are very rare. Even Celtic struggle to fill their ground for all but the biggest of matches, and it's a similar story at Rangers, where the stark reality of a lack of success aligned with a lack of a trustworthy board in recent seasons has eroded the attendances at Ibrox significantly. Even the showpiece game of the Scottish football calendar - the Scottish Cup Final - attracted a little over 37,000 supporters, leaving almost 15,000 empty seats. It should be noted that the game was played out between Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and so the 37,000 represents a fantastic turnout in relation to their respective average gates.

Hibs have a long way to go to even come close to filling Easter Road on a regular basis. It has been sixty-three years since Hibs won the top flight league title. Hibs fans have given up counting the number of years it's been since they last won the Scottish Cup. The last success Hibs had in any cup competition was in 2007, where they lifted the CIS Cup having defeated Kilmarnock 5-1 in front of 52,000 spectators.

Starved of success, and frustrated with how the club has been run for a number of years, an apathetic Hibs support has found better things to do on a match day. Recent cup finals have shown that there is still a significant Hibs support that could potentially be wooed back to Easter Road, but coming out for a cup final is one thing, getting back into the habit of attending home matches is something else altogether.

Even if Hibs were to fill Easter Road week in, week out, what is the best that they could hope to achieve? At a little over twenty thousand seats, their gate income would still be dwarfed by that of Celtic and Rangers. and with TV income at a fraction of that enjoyed by similarly sized English clubs, Hibs would still struggle to attract talent that would make them competitive outside of the top two or three positions in Scotland.

Celtic, with the huge relative income that they enjoy compared to Hibs, are the poor relations amongst Europe's elite. For Celtic, a club that once won the European Cup, simply qualifying for the Champions League is now considered a success, getting out of the group stages in that competition is a notable achievement.

Manchester City have spent however many hundreds of millions of pounds on their squad and have yet to trouble Europe's best. So what hope do Hibs have of getting a seat at that table ever again?

Where does that stark reality leave the ambitions of the Hibs support and board? Is the extent of the potential at Hibernian a full stadium and the odd second place finish in the top flight (even then, just competing in the top flight might still be some way off depending on whether or not Rangers spend big this summer to get out of the Championship, where their bigger spending potential should - if Dave King's claims are to be believed - put Hibs at a disadvantage for automatic promotion right from the word 'go'.)?

It would be an incredible achievement for Hibs to find themselves in a position just to compete to qualify in the Champions League. Hearts managed to find themselves in a Champions League Qualifier after Romanov spent millions, at a time when second place in the then SPL was enough to secure a qualifying spot. Now, you need to win the league.

So how can Hibs - or any Scottish side - ever hope to get back to where they once were? How can Hibs take a full house and use it to put together a side that competes way higher than the resources should allow?

How do Hibs even get to the point where they have that problem to address? Hibs have started to look seriously at how to reconnect with those lost supporters. A greater presence in the community through partnerships such as the recently announced link-up with Edina Hibs, and with Spartans, along with events such as the excellent open day, will go some way to drawing back supporters whose interest may be re-ignited by reliving past glories, or attracting new supporters who see the club as synonymous with football in Edinburgh.

Of course, the best way to attract fans is to be successful. An exciting, winning team does wonders for getting bums on seats. Building and then sustaining a winning side on limited resources, where your neighbours in England and Glasgow just need to flutter their eyelashes at your players to lure them from you, is a monumental challenge.

Hibs, again, appear to have put a plan in place to get a sustainable way of building a team with George Craig overseeing a complete overhaul of the football operation at Hibernian, from youths through to the first team. This should lead to Hibs being able to produce, sell, and replace talent without impact to the overall quality or style of the first team - similar to the approach taken by Swansea and Southampton in the English Premiership.

The biggest challenge that Hibs have is finding a way to break the shackles of the reality of the situation that they find themselves in, along with the rest of Scottish football, which is that no matter how good they get, how well they do, or how full the stadium is, the odds of achieving anything are stacked against them.

A Statement of Intent.

This week has seen Hibs move to strengthen the team and start assembling a squad fit for winning the league title in the upcoming season. An email from Leeann Dempster dropped into my inbox, as it did with thousands of other season ticket holders, thanking me for renewing and stating - quite clearly - that the ambition this season was to be promoted as champions.

These words would appear relatively hollow, had it not been for a week where Hibs announced that they had secured Fraser Fyvie on a two year deal. Fyvie is an exceptional talent, and to be perfectly honest, he is better than the Scottish Championship. That he sees his immediate future in the green and white of Hibernian is testament to the great work being done at the club by Alan Stubbs and Leeann Dempster.

Fyvie came to Hibs looking to get his career back on track, even to put himself in the shop window. Despite interest from other clubs, Fraser chose to stay at Hibs, confident that the club has the ambition and the means to gain promotion. His signing was possible, in no small part, because of season ticket purchases and supporters subscribing to Hibernian Supporters Limited, where contributions not only fund the football side, but help to buy the shares that will ultimately allow the support to take a controlling stake in Hibernian FC.

Fyvie's signing is a significant coup for Hibs, and represents a definite statement of intent on the club's part.

To add to Fyvie's signature, Hibs also announced the signing of James Keatings and Daniel Carmichael from Hearts and Queen of the South respectively. Carmichael had been courted by a number of clubs, and was given a place in the SPFL team of the year. A tricky winger, he will add a further attacking dimension to Hibs' play this season. Keatings did well at Hearts, and it was his desire to get more game time and the opportunity to work with Alan Stubbs that brought him to Easter Road. Keatings fits the bill for the type of player that Stubbs sees thriving in Leith.

Keatings was frustrated at a lack of game time at Hearts and has a point to prove, in the same way that Scott Allan and Fraser Fyvie had points to prove. Stubbs will give him the environment and the opportunity to grow as a player. It is a shrewd signing by Stubbs, and again shows that Hibs are serious about winning the title this season.

There is still speculation about Scott Allan's future, the league's best midfielder has a year left to run on his contract and Hibernian are looking to extend that - I'll be honest and say that I expect that to happen. Scott is happy at Easter Road and has clearly benefited from the management of Stubbs and his backroom team.

Rangers are credited with an interest in Allan, and who could blame them? He was the stand out player last season, and is at an age where his best years are ahead of him. Hibs will do well to hold on to him.

The same can be said of Stubbs, who is a young manager carving out a great reputation for himself. Hibs are hopeful of extending his deal which will, in turn, give some certainty to players that will commit to him as much as they commit to the football club.

Hibs announced today that they had also re-signed Lewis Stevenson on a further two year deal. Stevenson, like Charmichael, was named in a SPFL team of the season - nominated by his peers as the league's best left back over the course of the season. Stevenson is a cracking wee player, one of my favourites and not just because of the familiarity that comes with being Hibernian's current longest serving player. Stevenson is a little terrier, strong and tenacious with a fantastic temperament, and I'm delighted to see him commit to Hibs for another couple of years.

This news came on the back of the announcement at the start of the week that Liam Craig's departure from the club had meant that David Gray had been given the Captain's armband, to go with an extension to his contract. Gray was Stubbs' first signing, and it would be fair to say he raised the standard at the club straight away, not only with his own on-field performances but also with the standards he set in training. He is an ideal candidate for the Captaincy, respected by the fans and the players alike, and he will be hoping for an injury-free season to make up for some lost time in the season gone by.

Throughout these announcements, Hibs have been clear that they have been able to do the business that has been done because of the funds afforded to them by supporters. For a long time, there has been debate around the need for the club to show some ambition before fans will commit to season tickets, against the argument that the club needs the money from those season tickets to show the ambition.

I believe Hibs have gone about things the right way this time. Ambition isn't just about spending money, it's about achieving beyond your means. Hibs have players in their squad that many would argue are above the Scottish Championship. You could certainly go through the side and find a place in almost all of the Scottish Premiership sides for the players in each position.

Hibs have put their cards on the table and said, from the moment that another season in the Championship was an unwelcome certainty, that the goal was to win the league next season. No caveats or conditions, no targeting the play-off spots. Outright winning the league. Stubbs said it, Dempster said it, the players are talking about it. There is no confusion, the club is showing an ambition that has been sorely lacking in years gone by.

The support are playing their part too, those that have renewed their season tickets, or bought one for the first time have given Hibs the means to sign Fyvie, Gray, Stevenson, Carmichael, and Keatings. That season ticket income has been bolstered by those supporters that signed up to Hibernian Supporters Limited, or who bought shares themselves. Every single penny raised from those revenue streams has gone to the playing squad.

The support have work still to do. We, collectively, as a support can ensure that Stubbs, Allan, Fontaine, Boyle, and any other player that we want to see at Easter Road next season or the season after are there. We can do it by backing the club financially.

I would say to any Hibernian fan out there that might happen across this blog - buy a season ticket if you can, a full buoyant Easter Road is a sight to behold, and the cash that those season ticket sales brings can ensure that Stubbs can build a squad around his best players, rather than losing the best ones and building on the peripheral players.

If a season ticket is beyond your means, or if you have cash spare, then please - sign up for Hibernian Supporters Limited. Not only does your money go right to Stubbs, but it helps the support take control of the club, safeguarding the club for the future. You and I have the means to help Dempster and Stubbs build something special, something spectacular at Hibernian.

Every season ticket, and every HSL subscription counts, every pound committed is a pound that helps give us the best possible crack of winning the league and getting back where we belong - and staying there.

The club are doing everything they can to rise again, they need the support with them.

You can sign up to HSL here: http://hiberniansupporters.co.uk/

Footnote:
This blog represents my views, and my views only. Although I am part of the admin team at www.hibs.net  this blog is written independently and in no way reflects the views of hibs.net.
The blog is also written independently of HSL and Hibernian Football Club.

A Season Review

So Hibs fell short of their pre-season target of achieving promotion, their narrow play-off defeat at the hands of Rangers ensured that it would be Championship football being played at Easter Road next season, rather than the Premiership football everyone connected with the club had hoped for.

As with the Scottish Cup Semi-Final, and countless other matches that preceded the play-off semi-final ties with Rangers, Hibs' found themselves dominant but unable to break down a dogged defence until it was too late. A two goal deficit proved from the first leg proved too much to overturn, and though Jason Cummings' late strike won the second leg for Hibernian, it was too little, too late, and Rangers progressed to the final where they will now face Motherwell.

It was a cruel and premature end to Hibernian's season, the players slumped to the turf, devastated at coming so close only to fall short when it really mattered. The Easter Road support, were magnificent, and as the familiar Hibs' anthem 'Sunshine on Leith' chimed out through the PA system, the crowd lifted the players and applauded them off the park. In fact, the support had come into it's own in the final moments of the match.

As the Rangers fans taunted former Celtic player Alan Stubbs (with the tasteful lyrics 'Cheer up Alan Stubbs, oh what can it mean, to a fat fenian bastard...') the Hibs support broke into a spontaneous applause and drowned out the heckles of the visiting support, who had been quiet throughout the match up until the final few minutes. It's fair to say that should Rangers get the better of Motherwell and win promotion to the Scottish Premiership, few will miss the sectarian bile that their support seems incapable of eradicating.

That applause from the Hibs support was almost protective, a reminder to the Hibs players that the fans were right there with them. It was in stark contrast to the reaction to the final game of the season before which had brought about relegation, and reflects the transformation in the club in the last twelve months.

At the start of the season, I expected Hibs to be competing with Hearts and Rangers for the title, and for the three clubs to occupy the top three spots in the league. I actually called Rangers as favourites for the title. Their superior resources and the fact that their team had been together through the divisions put them in the best position coming into the season. Hearts, I felt, would struggle much the same as Hibs would, they would win the majority of their games but would lose their fair share too.

Of course, the season didn't pan out like that. Hibs' sluggish start left them chasing an insurmountable gap from early on in the season. Rangers imploded spectacularly mid-season and managed to self-destruct with almost comical frequency for a period of the season before Stuart McCall was appointed to steady the ship.

Hearts, as we know, had a spectacular league season. The blip that everyone expected to come never arrived, they won game after game after game and left the rest of the league trailing in their wake. It was incredible, and the hard work that went into their post-admin re-structuring and team building paid off in spectacular style.

Hibs were a slow burner, we were late to the party with our re-structuring. The decision to remove Terry Butcher and his backroom team was taken weeks too late, and the appointment of Alan Stubbs left him with little time to put together a thorough pre-season with his newly formed team.

There was little incoming Chief Executive Leeann Dempster could do about the timing, she had a job to finish at Motherwell and was not in a position to meet with Butcher to make the decision on his future at the club. When she did, she acted decisively.

The whole football department at the club has been shaken up, in fact, every area of the club was shaken up, and we continue to see changes being made at all levels.

George Craig came on board to head up football operations, Joe McBride took over the youth set up, bringing ex-Falkirk manager Eddie May on board with him.  Hibs saw directors leave and others join. Fan representatives Amit Moudgil and Frank Dougan were elected by the Hibs support onto the Board of Directors, and we are starting to see more of the influence that they are having at board level.

The club opened it's doors to the community, with the Community Foundation doing great work (from personal experience, I have attended the Football Fans in Training and Healthy Hibee programs, which have been outstanding and have brought me much closer to the club - even as a thirty-seven year old, I get a buzz from changing in the home dressing room before making my way out the tunnel and onto the pitchside!). Hundreds of school kids have attended Easter Road this season as the club have handed out tickets to give them the opportunity, and the great work carried out by Leith Links has ensured that many disadvantaged children have been able to connect with the club.

There has been a lot of discussion post-play-off defeat about the use of the word 'proud' when discussing how the support feels about the club. Some have argued that it is impossible to be proud of a team that has failed to meet its primary objective of gaining promotion to the top tier. It is a black and white stance that, personally, I don't agree with.

I see much to be proud of when I look at Hibernian Football Club right now. The club feels different - progressive and inclusive. It feels like my club. Our club.

Of course I'm disappointed that we fell short of promotion, just as I was when we lost out on the Scottish Cup Final. But I am proud of the players, proud of the manager, and proud of the club. You need to have incredible patience to be a Hibs supporter, and balls made of pure titanium to withstand the amount of kicks they take when it really matters, but looking at the bigger picture I can see the great strides that the club is making.

I genuinely feel that Hibs have changed for the better, and while it hurts right now - and will, for the whole of the next season regardless of how well we do - at some point soon I know we will be back, and we will be much stronger for the experience, and stronger for the hard work that is going into things all across the football club.

Already, Hibs have moved to cement plans for next season. Today saw the announcement of club captain Liam Craig's departure, and the extension of new club captain David Gray's contract. Hibs have never, for as long as I can recall, done that sort of business at the earliest opportunity. They have now. Stubbs and Dempster are people in a hurry. They want better and they are pulling out all the stops to achieve it.

As soon as the final whistle sounded on Saturday afternoon, Stubbs was vocalising his intention to win the league next season. There was no caveat to it, no 'depending on who is in it with us' cop-out, just a proper neck-on-the-line statement. He wants to win the league. Second place is not going to cut it for Stubbs next season.

These are exactly the noises I want to hear coming from Easter Road in the coming days, weeks, and months. I think Hibs have a huge opportunity to get the support on board. The share issue was always going to be a slow burner, but I think if Hibs can show that they mean business this season, and build a team not just good enough to win in the Championship, but good enough to compete with any team we face next season, then they can start seeing crowds returning to Easter Road.

The support haven't seen ambition from the club for years, for too long ambition has equalled budget, and the expectations have been set around that. It's not glamorous and it's not ambitious, it doesn't sell season tickets or capture the hearts and minds of supporters, some of whom can remember Hibs going toe to toe with the very best that Europe has to offer.

Ambition is about over-achieving. It is wanting to do more with what you've got that people think is possible. That stretch, that extra bit, the determination, craft, skill, and hard work that gets you over the line - that's your ambition right there.

Stubbs has ambition, and that breeds into the players. Leeann Dempster is ambitious too, so the club is being driven to achieve those extra miles. The bar is being raised and Hibs would do well to capture that spirit and show it to the fans. There is a desire to see a successful Hibs side. The support are desperate for good times again, to be able to say that they are proud of the team without someone telling them they shouldn't be.

We all have a part to play in that. The support provide the means to build a winning team, but they'll only do that if they think that the club mean business. For once, we seem to be in a position where the club are putting their cards on the table and doing exactly that.

The season, then, has been disappointing in the main, but it is essential that the disappointment does not obscure the many good things that have happened. We finished second, where it looked at one stage that we'd struggle to make fourth. We reached the Scottish Cup semi-final, going further than Aberdeen, Dundee United, Rangers and Hearts to name a few. We had the league's top scorer in Jason Cummings and the league's best player in Scott Allan.

When you consider that Scott Allan had some competition just to be the best player at Hibs, it shows that there are positives to take from the season. Dominique Malonga represented the club at the African Cup of Nations. We have become the Scottish club with the largest proportion of supporter ownership (I think!) through the efforts of Hibernian Supporters Limited, and we have one of the game's brightest managerial prospects in Alan Stubbs.

We can reflect on a disappointing season, and it will always be disappointing to be anywhere other than the top flight, but we should always remember that we are Hibernian F.C. and we have a lot to be proud about, and a lot to look forward to.