Former Jambo says new boss will turn Hibs around

The Irishman expects Calderwood to endear himself to the Easter Road players with his likeable man-management and said his philosophies are well suited to the Edinburgh club.

Kirk cautioned that Calderwood will require time to adapt to the Scottish Premier League despite being born in Stranraer. He has played, managed and coached solely in England since joining Mansfield Town as an apprentice in 1982. However, Kirk predicted a prosperous future once the 45-year-old acclimatises to his new environment.

"It might take a bit of time for him to adapt to the Scottish game," said the player, now with Dunfermline. "He's played most of his time in England but I think he'll be prepared for that. It might be a bit of a shock at the outset but he's an ex- perienced professional and an experienced manager. I'm sure he'll take to it.

"He signed me at Northampton in March 2005. The team were going quite well at that time. He managed to get us to the play-offs that season and the following year he got us promoted to League One. He went to Nottingham Forest after that and got them promoted to the Championship, then I think a few things went against him.

"He's got every coaching badge you can get and he's been coaching a Premier League team (Newcastle United] before Hibs. He'll be prepared and he'll get people around him to prepare for the teams he will come up against."

An illustrious playing career evolved from spells with Mansfield and Swindon Town and reached the giddy heights of Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. Calderwood played under high-profile managers such as Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles and also won 36 Scotland caps. He was a mainstay of the national team during the 1998 World Cup finals under Craig Brown.

Kirk recalls Calderwood's popularity and likeableness as his strongest assets. If he is to revive Hibernian from a position of eighth in the SPL following a disappointing league start, it will be with a mix of positive man-management, tactical awareness and discipline.

"As a manager, he was one of the best I've worked with," continued Kirk. "He's one of those coaches who inspires a lot of confidence in you. He makes you feel important in his plans. At Northampton, there wasn't one player who disliked him. He's a really likeable guy and one of those who you want to go out and play for.

"Normally at a club, you get one or two players who don't like the way the manager plays or how he does things. But when I worked with him, everybody enjoyed his training, we all enjoyed coming in and getting stuck in each day.

"He gets involved in training and he's played at the highest level. He knows what he's talking about. The training sessions he put on were very good and I have a lot of respect for him.

"What he'll do is go in and put his own stamp on Hibs. I expect the players to take to him because he's that sort of character. He will inspire a lot of confidence in the Hibs players because he knows what the game is about. I believe he could be the right man to get Hibs back on track again.

"He's a football man. We used to do a lot of stuff in training based on team shape and how we wanted to play. The players he brought to Northampton were all good footballers because he wanted us to get the ball down and pass it. He's quite attack-minded and, once he puts his stamp on things, I think the Hibs fans will enjoy the way he wants them to play."

Although amiable, Kirk was quick to point out the rugged side of Calderwood's nature. "He's an honest guy, but he can be hard as well. He won't settle for things not going right. Overall, I really enjoyed my time playing under him."