Two games, no points, and a chorus of boos at full-time. The honeymoon is already over for Marink Reedijk. Hibernian lost 2-1 at home to Falkirk on Saturday, which followed a defeat at Dundee United the week before, and the new manager now has the Edinburgh club sitting at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.
A feeling in the stomach
Reedijk did not hide from it afterwards. "I hate it," he told BBC Scotland when asked about the league position. "It's something I don't want." He also argued that, going by the performance, his side did not deserve to be there. "I leave very disappointed with a strange feeling in my stomach because I think the guys worked their guts out," he said, adding that he was positive but felt sick about the result.
The Dutchman is 35 and took his former club Beveren into the Belgian top flight on the back of an undefeated season. The trouble is the situation he inherited. Hibs have won none of their last six league games, and it is more than six months since they celebrated a Premiership win in front of their own supporters. They have taken a single point from the last 18 available.
What the numbers say
The stats against Falkirk tell an odd story. Hibs had around 70 per cent of the ball and 17 shots to the visitors' 10. They made more entries into the final third, 68 to 48, had more touches in the opposition box, 29 to 16, and an expected-goals figure of 1.35 against 0.76. Yet Falkirk had more shots on target, five to three, and that is where the game was lost. A failure to convert chances and a couple of individual errors undid good territorial work.
That is the frustrating part for Reedijk. The dominance he wants is there in patches, but the end product is not. Former Hearts forward Ryan Stevenson was blunt on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound, saying Hibs "look a mess" right now. Former Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart said the team is still "searching for a system" and for the right personnel and partnerships.
The calendar does him no favours
This is not a manager who inherited a rebuilt side. His predecessor, David Gray, led Hibs to back-to-back top-six finishes for the first time since the late 2000s and had the club minutes away from European group-stage football before a late collapse at home to Gent. Reedijk is in charge of the squad that remains, and he is still assessing his options.
Two of the next three fixtures are against champions Celtic and, in a national cup semi-final at Hampden, arch-rivals Hearts. Kilmarnock's win over Motherwell lifted them off the bottom and dropped Hibs into it, and the margins down there are tight. A cup final would help the mood. Without points soon, the word relegation will keep getting louder around Easter Road.
Match facts: Hibernian 1-2 Falkirk (Scottish Premiership, Easter Road, Saturday 17 October 2026). Hibs had 17 shots to Falkirk's 10, three on target to five, expected goals 1.35 to 0.76. Hibs are bottom of the table after two defeats under Marink Reedijk. Next fixtures include Celtic and a Hearts cup semi-final at Hampden the day after Halloween.
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