Pat Fenlon brings in new first-team coach but Billy Brown stays as Hibs No 2

Brown’s retention means Fenlon has access to a deep well of Scottish football knowledge as the Irishman prepares for his first assignment, at Motherwell on Friday night. Brown discussed staying on over the weekend following Saturday’s dismal 3-1 defeat to St Johnstone, which was his last match in charge as interim manager.

The former Hearts assistant manager, who was interviewed for the managerial vacancy at Hibs, admitted he had to put aside his disappointment after being overlooked for the post. “There was a disappointment that I hadn’t got the job in the first place,” Brown told The Scotsman. “But it’s gone now and that’s that finished. I had to think about what I wanted to do after that. Pat was keen to keep me here. I have unfinished business here and I want to help the team to do as well as they can, and certainly do better than what they have done in the past year. It’s a good challenge. I have got on really well with Pat, we had a good chat. Our thoughts on football are very similar. So I was quite happy to stay.”

Fenlon yesterday described the decision to work with Brown as an easy one and he was delighted that the 60-year-old had agreed to remain with Hibs. “I don’t think that decision needs too much of an explanation,” he told Hibs’ website. “He has vast knowledge of the game, especially in Scotland. I’ve known Liam [O’Brien] a long time. He is a very good coach, good around the training ground and I have a good relationship with him.”

O’Brien, 47, assisted Fenlon at Bohemians and won 17 caps for the Republic of Ireland. “We had a fair bit of success together,” said Fenlon. “So he was an important part of what I wanted to do here.” The pair watched the Hibs under-19 side draw 3-3 with Motherwell at East Mains yesterday. Fenlon added that, with Brown and O’Brien in place, he now hopes to “hit the ground running”.

Brown has been impressed by Fenlon’s dynamism since being named manager on Friday. He took a back seat at McDiarmid Park on Saturday but discussions with Brown continued over the weekend. Fenlon waited until Monday morning to speak with the players en masse. “We’ve told the players what we want,” he said. “It wasn’t a long-winded speech. At this stage of the season it is all about action.”

Fenlon dispensed with two members of the old regime on Monday, when coaches Alistair Stevenson and Gareth Evans left the club. “He’s certainly got the will to do the job,” said Brown of Fenlon. “He’s got a hunger and enthusiasm. He is successful in the job and he’s a switched-on guy. I think he knows the task he is taking on. He has never been in Scottish football so I would think that is one of the main reasons he has brought me with him. I will help him all I can.”

Brown is having to get used to new partnerships having worked with Jim Jefferies for nearly 25 years. His union with Colin Calderwood lasted only a few weeks. And now he is set to forge a new relationship with Fenlon. However, he is not yet ready to completely abandon his aim to be a manager in his own right one day. “The time with Jim [Jefferies] was fantastic,” he said. “We were a great partnership but that was brought to a halt by what happened at Hearts. Working with someone else is just a part of football life. Who knows what the future holds? Who would have said I’d be at Hibs after where I have been? We will take it as it comes. I still have great ambitions. We will see what happens.”

Brown is concentrating on the immediate future and the urgent need to inspire Hibs to start winning. The side are currently fourth bottom of the league, and are just two points ahead of bottom club Inverness Caledonian Thistle. “I had never met Liam,” said Brown, of the other member in the new coaching team. “I had met Pat over the years, but Liam is a football man as well. He has the same ideas as Pat. We’ve only been there two days together but he is easy to get on with and I am sure we can work together.”

Training has gone briskly this week, reported Brown. “I tried to make it up-tempo and obviously, when a new manager comes in, the players know he is in charge and there is a desire from the players to work hard for the new manager,” he said. “Training is not the problem at the Hibs – it’s the games that are the problem. We have to put that right.”