HIBERNIAN sporting director Malky Mackay has explained how he sees the club’s partnership with Cherries working.

American billionaire Foley bought Cherries in December 2022, before then buying a stake in the Scottish Premiership outfit earlier this year, through Black Knight FC.

Mackay sees the partnership between the two clubs as important for the future of Hibs, but was quick to point out they will not simply become a feeder club to the Premier League Cherries.

Asked how he plans to work with Cherries, Mackay told the Edinburgh Evening News: “We’re certainly going to try, put it that way.

“Myself and Simon Francis (Cherries technical director) is the communication angle.

“He’s new in the job, but has been at the club. He’s going to have his own mindset on their needs in the new role.

“But we will have an ability to have conversations. I’m certainly going to go down, spend a bit of time down there.

“There are a lot of facets of sports science, the academy, best practices we can share.

“Obviously recruitment is the one area everyone wants to focus on.

“But that’s got to be based on a player, a very specific player who is going to come and make a difference to our team.”

Former Watford and Cardiff City head coach Mackay added: “We can’t just go for four players a year.

“There’s no point if there is only one player who can hit the ground running in the Scottish Premiership. There’s no point in the other three.

“But certainly we hope to be able to lean on each other in recruitment, if that’s down to analysis or finding out about a player.

“That’s certainly how I see it working, communicating regularly, honestly and openly with a partner.”

Emiliano Marcondes spent part of last season on loan at Hibs from Cherries, the Easter Road club ending a disappointing eighth in the table.

The Dane scored three goals in 17 appearances during his stay north of the border.

He told the Daily Echo: “Hibs was another big experience, to play in a new league, a new country.

“It was different. I didn’t actually expect Hibs to be that big of a club, but it’s actually a massive club up there, with a bigger stadium than Bournemouth.

“The infrastructure in the club is good, so it has good potential.

“We should have done better. I really like the idea of the multi-club ownership, the partnership with Bournemouth.

“I think that’s what Hibs need to take it to the next level.”