Hibernian have given the job to a 35-year-old Dutchman who has never played professional football and has three years of head-coaching behind him, all of it in the Belgian second tier. Marink Reedijk is not an obvious hire for a Scottish Premiership club sitting tenth. Whether that makes him a brave appointment or a reckless one is the argument that will run at Easter Road all season.
He replaces David Gray, sacked eight days ago. Reedijk has signed a three-year contract and brings Rogier Molhoek with him as assistant.
What he actually did at Beveren
The record is the reason Hibs looked at him. Reedijk spent two seasons at Beveren and won the Belgian second division last year without losing a game, 28 wins and four draws across the campaign. In his first season he lifted them four places to fourth. Then, having earned promotion to the top flight, he left rather than take them up, which is an unusual decision and one Hibs presumably asked him about.
Before that he worked in academies at Ajax and West Bromwich Albion, and with senior sides at Roeselare, Vitesse and Anderlecht B. He has a doctorate in sports coaching. He has worked under Thomas Letsch and Phillip Cocu. He is also, as BBC Scotland's Colin Moffat pointed out, barely older than Grant Hanley, Martin Boyle and Joe Newell.
What he says he wants
"I can feel the ambition and see the clarity of what the club is trying to achieve," Reedijk said. "That was a big part of what attracted me here. I want us to be an assertive team; a team that gives everything, plays with purpose and gives our supporters something to really get behind."
Brave, intense, committed. Those were his words, and they are a direct response to how Hibs have looked lately, which is stale and risk-averse and short of ideas. Two wins from seven league games and a Conference League play-off exit that fell apart late is not a record that tolerates another cautious manager.
Sporting director Malky Mackay was careful to frame this as continuity rather than a reset. "We began this process with a clear idea of the type of team we want to continue to build," he said. "His teams are proactive, high energy and dynamic."
The Hampden deadline
Reedijk gets a training camp in Spain and four Premiership fixtures before the thing that will define his first months. Hibs play Hearts in a League Cup semi-final at Hampden in November, a tie Gray earned before he was dismissed. Win that and a lot of doubts about his age and his CV go quiet for a while.
Fan reaction has been split roughly the way you would expect. One supporter, Duncan, put the thing that should worry the board more than the appointment itself: this is Hibs' 15th manager in 20 years, and very few of them have worked out. His question was whether the manager has ever really been the problem.
Appointment facts: Marink Reedijk, 35, Dutch, appointed Hibernian manager on a three-year contract on Thursday 24 September 2026, with Rogier Molhoek as assistant. Replaces David Gray, sacked eight days earlier. Previous roles: Beveren head coach for two seasons, winning the Belgian second division unbeaten with 28 wins and four draws; Anderlecht Futures; academy work at Ajax and West Bromwich Albion; staff roles at Roeselare and Vitesse. Hibs are 10th in the Scottish Premiership with two wins from seven. They face Hearts in a League Cup semi-final at Hampden in November. Source: BBC Sport Scotland, 24 September 2026.
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