'I don't have an ego': Lee Johnson welcomes Hibs developments and says he is not threatened by DoF role

Hibs boss Lee Johnson has stated that he is not threatened by the club’s decision to bring in a director of football.

Lee Johnson says all he wants is for Hibs to succeed.

Speaking earlier this week, chief executive Ben Kensell detailed plans to appoint someone who would be charged with putting "processes in place that ensure we correct some of the things we got wrong". And, having been open in his view that errors have been made and his desire that they are not repeated, Johnson has welcomed the move, insisting he has been kept in the loop throughout and is looking forward to bolstering the club’s football acumen.

“That’s the right thing to do,” the Hibs boss said. “No one is using this to bash me on the head. We have had these discussions and, obviously, it all comes down to the candidate now. But, I am certainly not throwing my toys out the pram or saying this is the wrong thing to do because this club requires more and more football nous throughout the organisation and the business.

“I just want the club to improve. Genuinely. I don’t have an ego. Of course, at times, I am vicious in my opinion because I have a lot of football experience, and a lot of contacts and football nous. I am open and honest and the communication lines here are strong and they have been since I walked in the door. That’s the way it should be. Ian, Ben, Ron and myself, we don’t pull any punches when we talk to each other. But I think there’s mutual respect.”

With a lifetime in the game, learning from his father Gary and making his own way as a player and manager, Johnson says he has knowledge of various club structures and, tapping into that, is keen to make these changes work at Hibs. “I’ve got a lot of experience,” he continued. “I have been in football a long time. My dad’s a manager and has been for donkey’s years, I’ve come through an academy as a player so I know what that looks like, I have been at small clubs, some very small like Yeovil Town, and I have been at big clubs. I have managed small clubs and managed big clubs and I do have a feeling for where we are and my job is to advise and it is as simple as that.

“It’s about relationships and skill sets and about making sure that we fill the gaps the club requires. It’s my job to say ‘this is how I perceive it’ and then leave it to the powers that be to decide which way they want to go. But I’m here to do my very best for the team. Some of the stuff we’ve tried to implement in terms of code of conduct, discipline etc is to create an environment conducive to winning on a regular basis. It hasn’t been good enough and I have been honest about that so what do you do? Do you continue to not let it be good enough or do you canvas people, including the players, to try to improve things so that success comes to us because we are making better and better decisions. It’s about having somebody who can look at it from 10,000ft while everyone else is involved in the hustle.”