Hibernian confirm appointment of Lee Johnson as club's new manager

Hibs have announced that Lee Johnson has been appointed as the club’s new manager and has signed a four-year contract at Easter Road.

The 40-year-old former Sunderland, Bristol City, Barnsley and Oldham boss was chosen as Shaun Maloney’s permanent successor after the Hibs hierarchy interviewed a number of interesting candidates.

The Hibs board has been looking for the right man since sacking Maloney in April when the the former Scotland manager had been in charge for just four months.

Johnson, who spent time at Hearts during his playing career, will no take on the task of reviving Hibs’ fortunes and owner Ron Gordon said the club had the right man for the job.

“We know that this appointment is vital for the football club, so we really took our time to make sure we got the right person as our new manager,” Gordon said.

“Throughout this process we have been very clear on the type of profile, the style of football, and the experience we want our new manager to have, and that aligned approach enabled us to be incredibly thorough and vigorous during our search.

“There were a number of high-quality managers interested in the role, and we analysed them all thoroughly. The candidates were interviewed in depth by a panel of directors before we unanimously came to the decision that Lee was the outstanding candidate and the perfect fit for us.”

Gordon said that Johnson had been chosen partly because of his strong background in recruiting players, suggesting that the manager will make significant changes to the playing squad this summer.

“Not only does Lee have great experience in management, but he also has knowledge of the Scottish and English game, will bring a definitive style of positive play to Hibs and has a proven record of success,” the Hibs owner said.

“We wanted a manager that would lead on recruitment and have a strong pool of knowledge in that area. He shares similar levels of ambitions for the football club and will instil a winning culture at Hibernian FC.

“We will support him in the transfer window, so he can put his own stamp on the squad as we look forward to, what will hopefully be a really successful 2022/23 campaign.

“We are all looking forward to working with him, and his staff, to bring sustained success to our fantastic football club.”