CONSIDERING THE season Hibernian have endured so far, it would be understandable if the club’s supporters looked for any lucky omens they could find.

“The last time they won the Scottish Cup,” the Sky Sports reporter informed Pat Fenlon yesterday, “an Irishman was in charge.” Not only an Irishman, a Dubliner too, Dan McMichael leading the Edinburgh side to a 1-0 victory over Celtic . . . in 1902. Could Fenlon repeat the trick? He smiled and noted that there were more immediate concerns than breaking a 110-year cup drought. The team, two points clear of bottom of the Scottish Premier League, has, after all, seven league games before January’s fourth round cup tie at Cowdenbeath.

It was yesterday morning that the club confirmed the appointment of Fenlon, on a two-and-a-half year contract, as successor to Colin Calderwood, giving the 42-year-old his first managerial challenge outside Ireland – and making him the club’s eighth manager in 10 years.

Bohemians, who he led to two league titles and successes in three cup competitions in the last four years, wished him well. “The club gave Pat Fenlon permission to pursue this opportunity which represents another stage in his successful managerial career,” read their statement. “While the manager had another year on his contract with Bohemians, the club had undertaken not to stand in his way if such an opportunity arose.”

Club president Chris Brien thanked Fenlon for his service, noting that his achievements in his spell in charge – including “the league and cup double, the two-in-a-row league titles and the near miss in the Champions League against Salzburg” – were all “high points” in Bohemians’ history. As part of the release agreement, Hibernian have agreed to play a friendly against the Dublin side at a date to be arranged.

“Put simply, Pat Fenlon is a winner,” said Hibernian chairman Rod Petrie, explaining the appointment. “He has a record of winning championships and cups at different clubs, and his teams have competed regularly in Europe.

“This pedigree is matched by the ambition Hibernian has for sporting success. We are all excited about what the team and supporters can achieve together under Pat Fenlon.”

Fenlon will watch today’s league game away to St Johnstone from the stands, caretaker manager Billy Brown remaining in charge, but will be in the dugout for next Friday’s game at Motherwell. Brown’s future at the club is uncertain, Fenlon saying he will decide on his backroom staff in the coming days.

“I’d probably gone as far as I could in Ireland,” he said. “I was manager there for nine seasons, it was time to move on. When I came to Easter Road in March for a friendly match with Bohemians, I saw close-up the tremendous potential of the club. I’m really excited by the prospect of managing Hibernian, a club with a rich history and proud traditions.

“I’m looking forward to putting into practice all that I’ve learned in Ireland and will be giving everything I’ve got in to assembling a successful Hibernian team that everybody connected to the club can be proud of. The primary goal is to provide winning football for the Hibernian supporters, who have gone through some hard times recently. But we will also try to entertain our fans in the process and put a smile on their faces.”

Fenlon said he has no immediate plans to bring any League of Ireland players to Hibernian, that he would first assess his squad and make transfer decisions closer to the January window.

“There are some good players in Ireland. Whether they can come in and step up to the mark here, we’ll have to look at that. I need to assess what we have, there’s no point bringing players in from Ireland just for the sake of it, we need to see if they’re going to be better than what we have here. We’ll look at it over the next five or six weeks and then start to earmark things if we have to.”

Fenlon’s second game in charge will be at home to SPL champions Rangers, his first Edinburgh derby against Hearts scheduled for January 2nd, while Celtic will visit Easter Road in February.