Colin Calderwood speculation 'didn't hurt Hibs' says managing director

The Leith outfit's pre-season was dominated by Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City's desire to recruit Calderwood as their assistant manager. The former Scotland defender did little to quell the interest after admitting he was open to a return to England.

Chairman Rod Petrie even made a rare statement in an attempt to fend off the two Championship clubs.

Calderwood's apparent reluctance to pledge his future to the club prior to the new campaign left fans fearing they would be looking for a new manager before a ball was even kicked.

However, Hyland insists the board were satisfied by the way they handled the situation.

He said: "Our policy always has been and always will be that we don't comment on speculation, the close-season generates a lot of silly speculation.

"A couple of clubs down south, as you know, approached us and asked to speak to our manager; he's our manager, we want him as our manager and he will continue to be our manager. We rejected those approaches.

"That's basically what went on within the club, the manager went back to work, we went back to work and we carried on as business as usual.

"In the empty void of a close season the media and the other clubs keep that story alive. It's very frustrating and upsetting in many cases for our supporters. We have to calm the nerves and steady the ship through those storms. But in terms of how it affected business within the club, it was very, very minimal."

Hibs, meanwhile, are considering selling the naming rights to Easter Road after asking fans in a wide-ranging survey the importance of generating income through such avenues.

The club has produced an online questionnaire that can be accessed through their website.

Hyland said: "Everyone at the club realises it is a winning team on the park that is the main driver for increasing attendances, and our key focus is on giving the manager and team every resource we can to help achieve that."