Grant Scott wants Hibs Women to disrupt SWPL's big three

One drawn game and two defeats consigned Hibs to a fifth-placed finish in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) but this season they have started strongly, defeating a Partick Thistle side who only finished four points behind them last term and had the upper hand in league and cup games, followed by a 7-0 victory over Aberdeen, a 6-0 win against Dundee United, a 5-0 win at Motherwell and a respectable goalless draw away to reigning champions Celtic.

So what's changed? Head coach Grant Scott, in his second full season since returning to succeed Dean Gibson at the helm, isn't giving too much away but believes a slight tweak has had an impact.

"It’s one of those silly manager things but I decided we wouldn’t set targets this year," he revealed, previewing Friday night's Capital Cup clash at Easter Road.

"It becomes difficult if you miss out on targets but there were a couple of gaps in some of our performances last year and I was suspicious that we were a little too wrapped up in 'the target' rather than just performing on a week-to-week basis and striving for better displays and more resilience."

The widening gap between the 'big three' - Celtic, Glasgow City, and Rangers - and the remaining teams in the women's top flight has been well documented but Scott is hopeful of narrowing the chasm, and that goalless draw against Elena Sadiku's side last weekend should be a confidence-booster. The top two teams in the SWPL qualify for the Champions League first round and with Hibs having featured in continental competition six times since 2004/05 with their last involvement in 2019/20, they are understandably keen to make a return at some point.

“We’ve not set European football as a target - it would be a massive success if we manage to secure it but for this club, we’ve been there before, I’ve been there myself and a number of the players have competed in Europe so it’s something we’re aspiring to at some stage but it remains to be seen if we do it this year," Scott adds.

Before all that though, there is the small matter of an Edinburgh derby under the lights at Easter Road. Hearts have made admirable progress under Eva Olid in recent seasons but confidence is high in the Hibs camp, on home turf.

“Last year it was always nip and tuck between the two teams, always very close in terms of league position, points total, goals scored etc. and in the end they got a few more points and that’s how it is sometimes. Going into the game, I expect them to be confident but we are too, so it makes it a level game for me," Scott continues. 

“There’s an extra buzz in the camp when it’s a big game, at the stadium, but our preparation remains the same. We’re unpicking what we can from the opponent, discussing it with the group, and practising to exploit them where we can and play our game. Contextually there are always little differences that we’ll highlight based on the level of opposition, but consistency is the way forward for us and it’s been like that for a while - so no dramatic changes! 

"I think Hearts are very disciplined in their work and their shape; they’ve brought in some quality international players which they were maybe missing last year and pace on the turnover, the transitional parts of the game - they’re very quick up top, and fast down the sides. We’ll need to be very much on our game without the ball."

Derby matches are one thing, and as mentioned, Scott is not setting targets like he usually would. But there is a longer-term aim; a desire to at the very least be competitive at the top end of the division. The head coach, who is heartened by the progress he has already seen in the women's game, has warned that there is still a long way to go. Regardless, he has challenged Hibs to try to close the gap and disrupt the big three - and hopes that natural evolution can help the whole league, and not just those in the upper echelons. 

“I would like to think there’s a big five emerging now. What was the top three provides a consistency that Hearts and ourselves have been striving for over the last couple of years but if we keep doing what we’re doing then we should be closing the gap and, if we can close the gap, get in amongst last year’s top three. It will be tough; we know that, but that’s what we’re aiming for," he explains. 

“It’s good to see the progress but I think we still have a long, long way to go. You can see between the top five and the rest of the league that there’s still evolution to happen, but the gap is probably so wide because of the two or three years of full-time football that the top five have had, and that is showing against the teams that aren’t quite there.

“There’s lots of work to be done but it’s obviously very positive. There are full-time athletes in the country that we didn’t have four or five years ago and as things evolve in the next two to three years we’ll see some of that quality filter down to the lower-end teams and that should make for a more competitive decision which is what we all crave."