Lee Johnson reveals Hibs behind the scenes 'football acumen' that can drive club onto next level

Lee Johnson believes Hibs have got the pieces in place off the park to be a force again.

Now it’s about getting them in position on the pitch as new director of football Brian McDermott gets to work scouring the globe for stars. McDermott revealed the scouting role he played in Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic revolution when he was unveiled last week. And his history of tapping into markets including Asia and Africa while chief scout for Arsenal could see Hibs cast their net wider than ever this summer.

Johnson reckons having McDermott by his side and ex-Blackburn manager Steve Kean heading up the academy means “football acumen” is flowing through the corridors at HTC. He is convinced it will take the club onto the next level with the first step getting summer recruitment right.

The Hibees are rivalling Aberdeen for Go Ahead Eagles defender Jay Idzes while January target Jonny Williams remains on Johnson’s wishlist with the midfielder’s contract at Swindon set to expire. The manager said: “I want to see the football club progressing. We’ve made excellent signings in the physio department, our sport science is one of the best in the country and probably in Europe, I have fantastic coaches and we’ve got to make sure we are maximising when it comes to the player budget.

“That is where you have the chance to do something really successful and through both of our experiences at clubs who are battling and punching above their weight, hopefully we can pull all that together and be successful.

“It is a really strong set of staff that a club like Hibs have got. Even if I remove myself, there’s a lot of football acumen in this club.

“It is going to be new and there will be bumps in the road as there always is in sport but I guarantee