Marink Reedijk’s first league match as Hibernian manager ended in a 1-0 defeat at Dundee United, leaving the Dutchman in little doubt about the scale of the task he has taken on. Reedijk, appointed as David Gray’s successor last month, arrived at Easter Road after guiding SK Beveren to an unbeaten title in Belgium’s second tier last season. His introduction to Scottish football was not the one he wanted.
Daniel Bennie bundled in the only goal of the game on 35 minutes for the hosts, and Hibs had to see out the final stages with 10 men after on-loan Manchester United midfielder Jacob Devaney was dismissed for denying Neil Farrugia a goalscoring opportunity.
“The most frustrating thing is that 2,500 people came all the way from Edinburgh and we were not able to give them what I hoped to do,” Reedijk told BBC Scotland. “That is what it is, but work to do here.”
The performance at Tannadice underlined that many of Hibs’ familiar problems remain despite the change in head coach. Operating with a back four rather than the back three favoured by his predecessor David Gray, Hibs struggled in forward areas and spurned several promising positions, failing to score for the fourth time this season.
“If you summarise it, it’s imprecision and indecisiveness towards the final third and in the final third,” Reedijk said. “We lose a few sloppy balls where they can counter attack us. Then the doubt starts into the team. We started off well, tried our best to create something. We created some bits and bobs but then these moments decide the match. Little moments, details in terms of defending, in terms of their goal, that is something we should and need to avoid.”
There were encouraging signs. Hibs strung together some neat phases of play early on, and one excellent move with Callum Wright at its heart almost brought an opening goal for Josh Mulligan. New signing Rabbi Matondo brightened the Hibs attack for a spell in the second half, but United always looked capable of adding to their lead given the space afforded to them by a ragged visiting defensive line. The hosts had 17 shots, 10 of them inside the Hibernian box, producing an expected goals value of 1.68 across the 90 minutes.
The defeat leaves Hibs tenth in the Premiership, but with a new manager implementing new ideas, the Easter Road support may need to be patient. “It will take a bit of time because you’re going from your threat being in a back three, the wing-backs get high and wide, the crosses and the blocks – it’s more about being more industrious than really technically clever,” former Scotland international James McFadden said on Sportscene. “When you go to that 4-2-3-1, you’re asking a lot of your wide players, you want to go and get beyond the back line, you want to play with speed and control. That takes time, you’re having a shift from one style to the next. But I like the fact that he’s disappointed that the players haven’t been able to carry it out straight away. I don’t mind that at all.”
McFadden does not believe Hibs will be struggling near the bottom for long. “Hibs won’t be in trouble come the end of the season, absolutely not,” he said. “If David Gray was still in charge, they wouldn’t be in trouble towards the end of the season, I’ve got no doubt. But when you’re having that shift, it is going to take a bit of time. [Hibs fans] want to see a team that wins, and a team that wins well. That’s tough to get, but that’s why [Reedijk] has been brought in. Of course they do, but that’s why the change has been made. You can see the demand that he’s putting on them early. That sometimes can take a bit of time.”