Colin Calderwood 'coup' can establish Hibs as third force, insists Rod Petrie

• Colin Calderwood arrives at Easter Road from Newcastle United where he was assistant manager Picture: Jane Barlow

Calderwood has signed a three-year contract to become Hibs' eighth manager in the past ten years after Petrie negotiated a six-figure compensation fee to release the 45-year-old from his role as Newcastle United assistant manager.

Petrie, who revealed he had received 105 applications for the post vacated by John Hughes two weeks earlier, first made contact with Calderwood last Friday following what he described as an "exhaustive process".

For the former Northampton Town and Nottingham Forest manager, who has never previously worked in Scottish football after leaving Stranraer as a youngster to spend his whole playing career in England, it is a case of second time lucky in securing the Hibs post. He was also interviewed for it 18 months ago but lost out to Hughes on that occasion.

After the early promise of Hughes' tenure turned sour, with just four wins from his last 28 games, Petrie believes he has now landed the right man at the right time to revive Hibs' ambitions of getting closer to Rangers and Celtic at the summit of Scottish football.

More: Colin Calderwood at Easter Road

• Calderwood wants to lead Hibs to 'Utopia' but is quick to stress his number one priority is winning

• Fans and players need to quickly get behind new arrival, says Pat Stanton

• Colin Calderwood: Factfile

"We have got ourselves a very good manager," said Petrie. "When you meet him, you feel the passion he's got and you see the level he's played and managed at. He's managed progressively through the leagues in England and he was involved with Newcastle at the highest level there.

"He got three promotions in six years with Northampton, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle. You don't achieve that without knowing how to win more than you lose. But when you speak to people about Colin Calderwood they tell you what a quality guy he is.

"He's absolutely the right man for the job. We've brought someone with vigour, vitality and quality in his playing and managerial career. It's a bit of a coup to get someone who has been involved with a club of the calibre of Newcastle United.

"When you look at the infrastructure we have at Hibernian, the stadium is completed and the training centre is excellent. Now we are trying to get a winning team on the park and progress. We finished fourth last season and played in Europe. The challenge for clubs in Scotland is to make greater progress in Europe and being successful as we can be.But first and foremost Colin is here to get us winning and challenging at the top of the SPL table and hopefully getting back into Europe."

After seeing former Hibs players such as Hughes, Mixu Paatelainen and John Collins all unable to fulfil either their own ambitions or meet the expectations of the club's board, Petrie sees Calderwood's lack of any previous connection as a bonus.

"I think it's an attractive appointment," added Petrie. "Colin brings a freshness to the game in Scotland and he's very experienced. He's been in the dugout 300 times as a manager and with big clubs.

"There was interest from the four corners of the globe in the position. Whether that's surprising, heartening or pleasing, call it what you will, when the dust settled and we turned our thoughts to who the next manager would be, we had an awful lot of interest. At the last count we had 105 names in for the job.

"It was an exhaustive process, very thorough. It withstands scrutiny and Colin was absolutely the right candidate to emerge."

Calderwood will appoint his own assistant manager but Petrie made it clear that under-19 coach Alistair Stevenson and reserve team coach Gareth Evans, who led Hibs to a 2-1 SPL victory over Kilmarnock on Saturday in caretaker roles, will remain at the club. "Alistair and Gareth both have jobs which are still there at the football club," said Petrie, "and Colin is keen to speak to them. He is looking for continuity on that front."