Jack Ross unsure if he will be around to benefit from Hibs’ big budget

Hibernian manager Jack Ross has lauded club owner Ron Gordon’s ambitions even if he is unsure he or his current crop of players will be around to reap the benefits.

Hibs manager Jack Ross has welcomed the opportunity to 'work with something that is going to grow'. Picture: SNS.

Addressing shareholders at Wednesday night’s AGM the American-based businessman outlined plans to vastly increase revenue and double the player budget by 2023 and while both Ross and Gordon, pictured, agree that offers no guarantee of success, it does shorten the odds.

Only time will tell if Ross will be one of those to benefit.

“The game is so transient now that I don’t think players are sceptical but I think they understand that the regularity with which they move is more frequent now,” said the manager. “I’m sure they will look at parts of the plan and wonder if they will be here and I am the same because I am in a job that is even more transient.

KILMARNOCK, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 14: Hibernian Majority Shareholder Ron Gordon during the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Kilmarnock and Hibernian at Rugby Park, on September 14, 2019, in Kilmarnock, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

“It would be nice but I don’t focus on it too much because until it becomes a reality and you have it there then it’s not worth troubling yourself with it too much.”

Ross has been in football a long time and has heard it all before, as a fan, a player and a manager. Owners who want it all, promise it all, but then never deliver on their part of the process. But the Easter Road boss believes that the Hibernian owner could be the exception, which was a factor in him wanting the job in the first place.

“You want that opportunity to be involved in something that’s going to grow,” he added. “I’d prefer it to be somewhere where you’re not just bobbing along every day. That’s the vision, that’s the plan but the proof will be in the pudding and a lot of people will be saying that.

“But it’s up to me to try to help deliver that on the pitch and I’m sure he’s putting pressure and responsibility upon others at the club to deliver other aspects.

“I don’t particularly enjoy mediocrity. Even the way my own management career has gone, I have always had this very obvious target within my jobs. I find it difficult to work having not set something in my own head that I can then share with other people at the club and that players can understand and buy into.

“It is not always easy to do and there are no guarantees that doing everything right or having the best resources will see you do it. But I do think it is good that there is an ambition to drive the club forward.”