Former Reading and Leeds manager Brian McDermott has been appointed as Hibernian’s director of football.
The Easter Road club announced in January that they intended to recruit someone to a position which had essentially been redundant since former sporting director Graeme Mathie left in September 2021.
The search for the new figurehead was interrupted slightly following the death of owner Ron Gordon in February, but Hibs announced on Thursday morning that 62-year-old McDermott, who has had scouting roles with Reading and Arsenal in recent years since his last managerial post with the Royals ended in 2016, will take on the role with immediate effect.
McDermott will be heavily involved in recruitment alongside manager Lee Johnson and will oversee football operations such as scouting, analysis, sports science and medicine. He will also work closely with academy director Steve Kean on the development of young players.
“I’m delighted to join such a great, community-orientated club like Hibernian FC,” McDermott told Hibs’ website. “I scouted Hibs games many times in the past and have always been taken by the fantastic atmosphere at Easter Road.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity. Having met the chairman, the board of directors, executives, Lee Johnson, all the staff, and understanding more around the culture of the football club and the objectives, I’m really excited about the challenge.”
Chief executive Ben Kensell is confident Hibs have appointed the right man following a “long and extensive process”.
“We are conscious that this appointment has taken some time, which is partly due to the sad passing of our late chairman Ronald J Gordon, but we also wanted to make sure that we had the right steps in place and a thorough process, to make sure we’ve got the right person in the door,” said Kensell.
“Brian joins us with substantial experience in the game and has worked across numerous different roles across a football club on the sporting side, which sets him up perfectly for this role.
“We also wanted someone that has a strong recruitment bias, and he has that in abundance having scouted across the world for some high-level clubs.
“Brian’s background, contacts and experience will be vital as we continue to move the club forwards.”
McDermott is best known for his first spell in charge of Reading when he led them from the Championship to the Premier League in 2012, while he also managed Leeds for just over a year in between his two stints as Royals boss.
New beginning: T&T’s Andre Raymond at home with St Johnstone after jail-time disrupted opportunity with SC Braga
Trinidad and Tobago's Andre Raymond knows all too well that opportunities in football often come with their fair share of challenges and setbacks. Though those setbacks are sometimes harrowing, much like his jail-time experience in Portugal, Raymond, like the professional he is, has learned to smile in the face of adversity.
In fact, it is Raymond's resilience and determination that ensured a bad situation took a positive turn and brought him back on track to pursue his professional dreams, as he recently signed with St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership, where he had an encouraging start in a 2-0 win over Morton on Saturday.
“I was very happy with my debut. I needed to get some minutes in the tank and build a bond with the team and the intensity was really high—it was really good,” said Raymond, whose last competitive outing was a friendly international against Guyana in May.
“I didn’t know the coach [Craig Levein] had asked Dan [Phillips] about me. Then, in March, I got a phone call saying he was interested. He’d done some research and liked what he saw, so things started moving then. I made my mind up straight away; I wanted to join St Johnstone because the Scottish league is a top league,” he told The Courier.
Prior to his move to Scotland, Raymond, whose speed, defensive acumen, and ability to contribute offensively made him a sought-after player, caught the eye of scouts from various clubs, including SC Braga, one of Portugal’s top football teams.
The opportunity to sign with Braga seemed like the perfect next step in Raymond’s burgeoning career. However, his aspirations were abruptly halted by an unexpected turn of events.
During his trip to finalize the deal with SC Braga, Raymond was detained by Portuguese authorities for overstaying on a previous visit. This oversight resulted in him being thrown into prison for two days.
“I was at university in America and did one semester. While I was at home, my friend was going with an academy team to Spain. I was dropping him off at the airport, and the coach of his team asked me what I was doing and why I wasn’t playing football and going with them,” Raymond recalled.
“He wanted me to go with them, so he spoke to my dad about it, but my mom was saying, ‘No way, you have to go back to school,” he shared.
In the end, Raymond managed to persuade his parents, and a few days later, he joined the Academy team in Spain for the tournament.
“After that, we went to Portugal, and I ended up with Braga, but then some stuff happened—I got arrested because we’d been away from home for so long, and I ended up staying for four months instead of three. I went back home to get my documents and then back to Portugal for pre-season with Braga, but they didn’t let me in and threw me in jail,” Raymond explained.
“I was in there for two days; it was horrible. I was allowed a 15-minute phone call and locked in a cell. I know it was only two days, but that was enough. It was a new experience, that’s for sure, and I wouldn’t want anyone to go through it,” he added.
The detention not only affected Raymond personally but also jeopardized his professional prospects. The deal with SC Braga fell through as the club, wary of the legal complications, decided not to proceed.
For Raymond, it was a devastating blow, as the young defender was on the brink of a significant career milestone.
“They sent me back to Trinidad, and I had to spend three months out of Europe before I could go back. But, because of the length of time it was, Braga had moved on and signed another left-back, and that left me without a club.
“I felt like giving up football again, to be honest, but I got the chance to sign for Vilar De Perdizes, so I decided to do that. My mom wanted me to go back to school, but my dad said I should push on and keep going,” Raymond revealed.
Through resilience and his father’s unwavering support, the now 23-year-old continued to push and inevitably caught the attention of St Johnstone through a timely referral from his Soca Warriors teammate Dan Phillips.
Now a part of the St Johnstone squad, Raymond is eager to leverage his skills and experiences to help the Perth-based club succeed while continuing to develop as a player.
“I spent the last few months of the season watching the team play, looking at the players, the style of play, and the atmosphere in the stadium. All the time I was speaking to the manager and hoping they would stay in the Premiership, and I was very happy that they did,” Raymond said.
“I wanted Dan to stay, but he has goals and aspirations of his own. We still speak a lot. He told me to come here because it’s a good club and I would fit in here. He said that my style of play would match up with Scottish football, and I’m feeling that too because I like to defend, but I also like to get forward,” he ended.
Rangers 0-2 Manchester United: Diallo and Hugill secure Red Devils' first pre-season win
Manchester United claimed their first victory of pre-season with a 2-0 win over Rangers at Murrayfield.
Amad Diallo and Joe Hugill were on target for Erik ten Hag's side, who bounced back from their 1-0 defeat by Rosenborg last time out.
The Red Devils, whose starting XI included new signing Leny Yoro and the returning Jadon Sancho, went close with young striker Ethan Wheatley calling Jack Butland into action, while Diallo was narrowly off target from a free-kick.
The latter broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time, cutting inside from the right wing before flashing a shot into Butland's bottom-right corner.
Sancho shot over from close range before United doubled their lead 19 minutes from time. Maxi Oyedele provided a neat throughball for fellow substitute Hugill, who brilliantly fired home first time off the underside of the crossbar.
Andre Onana denied Ridvan Yilmaz's acrobatic effort later on to preserve a clean sheet for Ten Hag's side, who will travel to Los Angeles to face Arsenal next week.
Schmeichel reunites with Rodgers at Celtic
Kasper Schmeichel has signed a one-year deal with Celtic, while reuniting with former Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers.
The Denmark goalkeeper joins the reigning Scottish Premiership champions as a free agent after his departure from Belgian side Anderlecht, where he spent a single season.
Schmeichel, who also spent a year with Ligue 1 outfit Nice in 2022-23, brings plenty of experience to Celtic Park, following his 11-year stint with Leicester.
The 37-year-old helped the Foxes to their fairy-tale Premier League triumph in 2016, along with their FA Cup success five years later.
Rodgers was Schmeichel's coach in his final three years at the King Power Stadium, and both are excited to renew that working relationship.
"I am absolutely delighted to join Celtic and can't wait to get started," Schmeichel told the club's official website.
"Celtic is one of the world's proper football clubs, a massive name and a place of real passion and success. Celtic is what football is all about.
"I know Brendan very well, too. He is a top manager and someone I can't wait to work with again.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting up with the boys [on their pre-season tour] in America and starting our work and then, of course, meeting our fans who bring so much to Celtic.
"I will be doing all I can to keep Celtic on top and bring these brilliant supporters more and more success."
"I am really pleased to bring Kasper to Celtic," Rodgers added. "He is a real quality keeper and someone with the ability and personality to be great for us.
"He is a guy I trust and someone who knows how to win. He lives for football, and he is coming to a club where he will feel the same passion that he has for the game.
"I know he will feel right at home at Celtic, and we look forward to working with him as we all aim for more success."
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