Hibs announce Brian McDermott as new director of football at Easter Road

Hibernian have appointed Brian McDermott as their new director of football.

The Easter Road club announced the move on Thursday morning after an “extensive recruitment process” and the 62-year-old will take up his role with immediate effect.

McDermott, who previously worked as part of Celtic’s scouting team, will work closely with Lee Johnson and have a strong focus across the recruitment of players and football operations such as analysis, sports science, and medicine.

The former Reading and Leeds United manager will also work closely with Steve Kean on the development of the academy and player pathway.

McDermott made over 300 appearances as a player and managed almost 500 games, including leading The Royals to promotion to the English Premier League.

He spent five years as Arsenal’s international senior scout, was also chief scout at Reading and supported the Parkhead recruitment team through video scouting.

Chief executive Ben Kensell said: “We are delighted with the appointment of Brian McDermott after a long and extensive process.

“We are conscious that this appointment has taken some time, which is partly due to the sad passing of our late chairman Ronald J Gordon, but we also wanted to make sure that we had the right steps in place and a thorough process, to make sure we’ve got the right person in the door.

“Brian joins us with substantial experience in the game and has worked across numerous different roles across football clubs on the sporting side, which sets him up perfectly for this role.

“We also wanted someone that has a strong recruitment bias, and he has that in abundance having scouted across the world for some high-level clubs.

“Brian’s background, contacts, and experience will be vital as we continue to move the Club forwards.”

McDermott said: “I’m delighted to join such a great, community-orientated club like Hibernian FC.

“I scouted Hibs games many times in the past and have always been taken by the fantastic atmosphere at Easter Road.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity. Having met the chairman, the board of directors, executives, Lee Johnson, all the staff, and understanding more around the culture of the football club and the objectives, I’m really excited about the challenge.”

Hibs face St Mirren on Saturday knowing a win would put them just a point behind city rivals Hearts in the race for European football.