Hibs new assistant manager Billy Brown has had a chance to draw his breath and talk about the role Colin Calderwood played in bringing him to Easter Road. Brown had been most closely associated with Hearts, having two spells at Tynecastle under manager Jim Jefferies, the last of which ended when they were sacked amid some controversy in August but was a boyhood Hibs fan. There was some surprise when Brown was announced as Calderwood's number two last week and he was in the dug-out for the 2-2 draw with Dunfermline at East End Park on Saturday.
Ahead of the Scottish Communities League Cup third-round meeting with Motherwell at Fir Park on Tuesday night, Brown said: "Hibs phoned me in the first place but it was Colin that wanted me to come here. I met Colin after Hibs got in touch and it was done. If it hadn't been Colin's idea, I wouldn't have come. The manager and assistant have got to have the same mindset and I'm here because he wanted me to come here. I had met him over the years at games and had always found him a decent fellow and the reason he brought me here was after Derek Adams left he didn't have an assistant manager, he was maybe waiting for the right one to come up. I'm not short of experience, obviously, and maybe I'm exactly what he needed. But he's easy to take to and I don't think there will be any problems that way but the fact that we weren't the best of friends is awfully important in this situation."
After so many years working with Jeffries, Brown admits he is still getting used to life under a new manager. He said: "Nothing surprises you in football but I wouldn't have predicted this. There is no doubt that after working with one man for 23 years, that a change is strange. It was a strange situation on Saturday to go into the dugout with Colin for the first time but one thing about Colin, he is a nice chap, he is easy to get on with and I'm sure we will develop a good relationship."
Hibs did manage to get off the bottom of the SPL by virtue of goal difference with Inverness now holding up the rest of the league. Brown wants to take stock of the situation at his new club before he delivers his verdict on whether Hibs can keep away from the wrong end of the table . He said: "I haven't been here long enough to see what's needed. Obviously some changes are needed, you don't get into that position in the league through bad luck. But I was only here on Friday morning for a wee while and then at the game on Saturday. But there is no feeling of doom and gloom. All the players seem relaxed and happy. I've got to get my feet under the table and see what happens."
The former Bradford and Kilmarnock assistant is looking forward to the trip to Fir Park. He said: "At the end of the day, there are only three things you can win in Scotland. I've been to the final of the League Cup with Hearts and Kilmarnock, and lost both, so it is a major competition and the longer you stay in these competitions the more confidence it gives to everybody. Wouldn't it be great to move on? A win will get us into the quarter-final so it is a big game and we see it as an important game."