Fenlon eager to start after realising his SPL ambition

PAT Fenlon has waited a long time for the opportunity to show what he can do in Scottish football. Having been given it at last, he intends to make the most of it.

Almost two years have elapsed since the Dubliner was on the verge of being appointed Dundee United manager, only for the deal to fall through after the Tannadice club could not agree compensation with Bohemians. Linked with subsequent vacancies at Kilmarnock and Motherwell, Fenlon might have been tempted to think that his chance had come and gone. Instead, he persevered, and it has now paid off.

“I’m chuffed to be here,” the new Hibernian manager said yesterday. “It’s been a long time coming. I’m looking forward to getting cracking.

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“I know a lot about Scottish football. There are some ex-players I had who have gone on to play in the SPL so I keep an eye on how they’re doing.”

To those of us who have become accustomed to bemoaning the state of the Scottish game, Fenlon’s enthusiasm for it may be baffling. But he explained that, for all its footballing flaws and financial failings, it remains a step up from the League of Ireland, where he enjoyed success first with Shelbourne and then with Bohemians.

“There’s a great heritage in the game here. There’s some massive clubs in Scottish football and it’s something we don’t have in Ireland. Unfortunately, most people back home look outside of our own league - that’s something we’ve got to change. But it’s a big industry here and it’s something I’ve always looked at and kept an eye on, and it’s obviously a big attraction to come and manage here.

“Right now you have to go abroad as an Irishman to prove yourself. It’s a great stepping stone and breeding ground for young managers. I’ve enjoyed my time. I’ve had good experience in terms of managing both at home and in Europe. It’s been a great learning curve.

“I got very close to managing Dundee United. It came down to a compensation issue that wasn’t sorted out, which was disappointing, but I always firmly believe in football that if it’s there for you it won’t pass you by. I’m delighted to get a second opportunity to manage a big club like Hibernian.”

After nine years in management, the 42-year-old is confident he has the experience needed to succeed on a bigger stage, yet is also aware that he has a serious job on his hands if he is to restore Hibs’ credibility. He does not know the players as individuals yet, and will not address them at any length until after today’s league match against St Johnstone, but he is well informed enough to be aware of some of their deficiencies.

And, perhaps crucially, he knows that at Easter Road he will have the time to concentrate on ironing out those deficiencies, whereas in his previous jobs he often had to leave football issues to one side and devote time to fund-raising. “I know a little bit [about Hibs], but the situation here is something we need to get our head into fairly quickly,” he said. “It’s a big club and they want to see you winning things. This is not a daunting situation, compared to where I’ve been. It’s a fabulous opportunity. You look at the stadium, look at the training ground, the support base and everything. If people see that as a problem, they should go and manage in Ireland for a season.

“It’s a big challenge. It’s one of the reasons I’ve come, that I firmly believe we can get them up the table.

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“It’s not a position they should be in, but that doesn’t matter in football – you get what you deserve. We’ve got to work hard to get ourselves out of this situation and get up the other end of the table.

“There is obviously a lack of confidence at the moment, especially at home. We need to rectify that.

“If you keep changing managers, it’s difficult to build anything. Stability is key.

“Over the season, the crowds have dropped off and we need to get them feeling good. It’s important that the players come here to play and enjoy their football.

“Sometimes it just takes somebody coming in and letting them know what they’re good at, what they have and what it’s all about. This is a fabulous environment to be playing in and they should embrace that.”

For every Hibs fan willing to embrace the new hope Fenlon represents for the club, there is another who – so far at least – is underwhelmed by the appointment. The manager is aware of that, but unperturbed.

“I can understand that Hibs fans might have their reservations. It would be the same if a manager came into the League of Ireland from the outside.

“We would be asking ‘who is he?’, ‘what has he done?’, ‘why is he here?’. That’s par for the course and the way to change that is by having success on the park.

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“It’s about how you go about it and how you perform. It’s also about how you conduct yourself and I have to try and win people over.”

If success in football were determined by how articulate and convincing a manager was, that dusty old trophy room at Easter Road would soon be in use again. Shrewd, thoughtful and intelligent, Fenlon appears a different proposition to his ponderous predecessor Colin Calderwood.

But, while he has confidence in his own ability, he still comes across as a very down-to-earth character. He knows that talking a good game does not in itself win any points in actual matches, and he knows that he cannot transform Hibs on his own.

But who will he get to assist him? Caretaker manager Billy Brown will take the team against St Johnstone today, but after that there will probably be changes, even if Fenlon was diplomatic enough not to talk about them yesterday.

“I will sit in the stand tomorrow and I won’t speak to the players until Sunday or Monday,” he said. “I spoke to Billy this morning and we had a brief meeting.

“They [the players and coaches] have been working all week with regard to the game so me being around won’t be too helpful. It is not the right environment.

“I will get in on Monday morning and get to work. I have given my own coaching staff a bit of thought, but now is not the time to speak about that.”

He has given the prospect of working in Scotland a bit of thought too, since first being linked with the Dundee United job. Now, not before time, that prospect has become a reality.

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Fenlon is more than ready for the move from the League of Ireland, and has joined a chronically underachieving club at the right time. It is a dangerous thing to predict of any Hibs manager, but this one looks like being the real deal.