Fife Hyland to quit Hibs at end of season

A statement on the club website explained that Hyland informed chairman Rod Petrie last year of his intention to quit at the end of the current campaign, despite the fact that he was only appointed to the position of managing director last summer as part of a restructuring at board level.

The departure has prompted another reshuffle at the Easter Road club, with executive director Scott Lindsay reprising his role of chief executive, a title he held from 2008-2010, incorporating responsibility for the commercial and communications operations. Hibs have also announced the appointment of lifelong supporter Brian Houston as a non-executive director.

Hyland’s departure and the arrival of Houston means Hibernian will still have seven directors. As well as Petrie, Lindsay and their new recruit, the Easter Road boardroom includes finance director Jamie Marwick, club secretary Garry O’Hagan and non-executive directors Amanda Jones and Bruce Langham.

Chairman Rod Petrie said: “I should like to thank Fife for the experience, flair and acumen he has brought to the club’s commercial and communications operations. We understand his decision and wish him every success in the future. I am grateful, too, that Scott Lindsay has agreed to return to his role as chief executive of the club.”

Hyland said: “I have enjoyed the privilege of serving on the board over the past four seasons, and will deeply miss not being part of the club day-to-day and working with such dedicated people. Being commercial director, then managing director of Hibernian, was a true honour and the time is now right for me to move on to other projects.”

Hibs’ announcement came on the day the post-split fixtures revealed that Hibs face two Sunday matches ahead of their key relegation head-to-head with Dunfermline, which had been ear-marked for Monday, 7 May. Hyland recently spoke out condemning the power granted to television companies when it came to the scheduling of matches, claiming that the demands of broadcasters was being allowed to outweigh the interests of fans. He also said it was having a detrimental impact on attendance figures.

Meanwhile, the recently announced Supporters’ Player of the Year, Lewis Stevenson, has said that regardless of who and when they are playing, the club will still have to buckle down to the task in hand. The weekend results saw the Leith side move six points clear of Dunfermline but the midfielder insisted their safety remains far from secure.

Acknowledging just how poor Hibs’ league season has been, he said that he had been surprised and slightly embarrassed to receive the award from the fans.

“It was strange to be honest because I don’t think anyone deserves it this year,” he said. “It was nice to be acknowledged by the fans but there’s still a lot I could be doing and I know that myself. It’s obviously nice, although I was worried I would be the first player in history to be booed as I went up to get the award!

“It must have been a hard choice for them because I don’t think there were a lot of outstanding candidates. To be honest, I think I have been all right but I don’t think I have been outstanding. There are a few boys who maybe could have won the award. Boys like [Isaiah] Osbourne and [Paul] Hanlon and [Garry] O’Connor and [Leigh] Griffiths. You’re still thinking, ‘It’s been a bad season.’ I have maybe played more than in past seasons but if we win the Scottish Cup and stay up then obviously it will be all right.”