Malky Mackay reveals Hibs head coach search criteria and plan to ditch heavy boss turnover

Malky Mackay has revealed what he is looking for in a new Hibs head coach as he opened up on the search.

The newly-appointed Easter Road sporting director will be in charge of the recruitment process for a new boss after Nick Montgomery was sacked yesterday, closely followed by Mackay's appointment. That will be his first and most important task when he gets to work in his new role.

Giving his first interview to Hibs TV, the former Ross County boss addressed fan backlash to his appointment. And he has also been discussing the search for a new man to take the team, outlining the three main qualities he will be looking for.

Mackay said: "What I want in a new head coach is someone who can stand on a football pitch at the training ground and coach and move a team around a pitch in what you would call shape. And impart his ideas with ease and maybe even have 100 people watching so there's pressure on him. To be able to coach with ease.

"Second thing I would want is him to be a student of the game. To be broad-minded enough to take ideas from others. To realise that if one tactic is not working an in-game change is needed. That he strives for best practice and wants to learn from others, because we all should want to learn from others.

"And the third thing is the people-catcher. To have personality, to make players want to play for him, staff want to work for him and the club want to wrap it's arms around him. Those are three qualities and it's not an easy thing because sometimes someone can be strong in one area but it's my job to make sure all three of those areas come out in someone."

The new manager will the fifth at the helm in less than three years. Montgomery was in the job eight months which is a similar length of time to Shaun Maloney, with Lee Johnson in between there for just over a year.

Mackay admits there has to be more stability and less of a turnover in bosses. And he'll be looking to make sure the new man is fully supported to be able to make it work.

"There has (been turnover) and I think over the last number of years Hibs isn't the only club that's happened at," he added. "There are clubs all over Britain where change has happened very quickly on a constant basis. Invariably that doesn't bring success with it.

"I think sustained success is what we're striving for and over a period of time there is a calmness involved and there's a direction of travel that's adhered to and we all stick to a direction of travel we agree on. I think the fact we've now go to go and make sure we look for a new head coach that we go through a proper process again and we keep best practice in the way that we actually do that.

"We support and we back and we make sure the head coach has got everything he requires to do the jo properly. It's not an exact science but what we've got to do is make sure he has that support mechanism around him and an open line of communication to myself and I have that open line of communication to the chief executive and the board. So that there's an explanation as to 'this is what the manager is going through, this is what's happened. These are the factors.' So there's a rounded and balanced approach with my football knowledge and experience of the last number of years."