| Club: | Hibernian |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Chairman: | Ron Gordon |
| Manager: | Jack Ross (until 9 December) David Gray (caretaker, 9 December - 20 December) Shaun Maloney (20 December - 19 April) David Gray (caretaker, from 19 April) |
| Stadium: | Easter Road Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland (Capacity: 20,421) |
| League: | Premiership |
| League Result: | 8th |
| Cup1: | Scottish Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Semi-finals (vs. Heart of Midlothian) |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Runners-up (vs. Celtic) |
| Cup3: | UEFA Europa Conference League |
| Cup3 Result: | Third qualifying round (vs. HNK Rijeka) |
| League Topscorer: | Martin Boyle (7) |
| Season Topscorer: | Martin Boyle (14) |
| Highest Attendance: | 20,419 vs. Heart of Midlothian, 2 February |
| Lowest Attendance: | 5,600 vs. Ross County, 8 August |
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| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
The 2021–22 season was Hibernian's (Hibs) fifth season of play back in the top league of Scottish football (the Scottish Premiership), having been promoted from the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2016–17 season.[1] Hibs lost 2 - 1 to Celtic in the League Cup final and by the same score to Hearts in a Scottish Cup semi-final. Earlier in the season they participated in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League, losing to Croatian side HNK Rijeka.
See main article: 2021–22 Scottish Premiership.
Hibs had a significant COVID-19 outbreak in their squad in late October, which caused the postponement of matches at Ross County and Livingston.[2]
Manager Jack Ross was sacked on 9 December, following a run of seven defeats in nine league matches.[3] After three games under the caretaker management of David Gray, including a League Cup final defeat, Shaun Maloney was appointed manager on 20 December.[4] Hibs won their first two games under Maloney, but a run of one win in 13 league games meant that they were in the bottom six when the league split after 33 games. Maloney was sacked on 19 April, with Gray taking interim charge for the rest of the season.[5]
See main article: 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Having finished third in the 2020 - 21 Scottish Premiership, Hibs qualified for the newly created Conference League competition. The draw for the second qualifying round, the stage at which Hibs entered, was held on 16 June 2021.[6] [7] They progressed through their first tie with two wins against Andorran side FC Santa Coloma, but were eliminated in the next round by Croatians HNK Rijeka. Hibs had levelled the tie early in the second half of the second leg in Croatia, but a red card for Darren McGregor was followed by the concession of three goals without reply.[8]
See main article: 2021–22 Scottish League Cup. As one of the clubs that qualified for European competition, Hibs received a bye through to the second round (last 16) of the League Cup.[9] At that stage they were given a home draw against Championship club Kilmarnock.[10] A 2 - 0 win put Hibs into a quarter-final at Dundee United.[11] Three first-half goals gave Hibs a 3 - 1 win at Tannadice, which meant that Hibs qualified for a fifth consecutive national cup semi-final.[12] Hibs were drawn to play defending league champions Rangers at that stage.[12]
Hibs did not play a competitive match for almost a month before the semi-final due to a COVID-19 outbreak, which led to the postponement of two league fixtures.[2] [13] Despite this disruption, a Martin Boyle hat-trick put Hibs three goals ahead and they held on for a place in the final with a 3 - 1 victory.[14] Hibs sacked manager Jack Ross ten days before the final, following a poor run of form in the Premiership.[3] They took the lead in the final, but two goals by Kyogo Furuhashi won the cup for Celtic.
See main article: article and 2021–22 Scottish Cup.
As a Premiership club, Hibs entered the 2021–22 Scottish Cup at the fourth round (last 32) stage and were given a home draw[15] against League One club Cove Rangers.[16] Hibs needed extra time to edge past Cove 1 - 0, and were then drawn away to Championship side Arbroath in the last 16.[17] Wins at Arbroath and Motherwell put Hibs into the semi-finals, where they were paired with Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts.[18] Hibs lost the semi-final 2 - 1, and manager Shaun Maloney was sacked a few days later.[5]
|-! colspan=13 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers|-|-! colspan=13 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders|-|-! colspan=13 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders|-|-! colspan=13 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards|-
American international Chris Mueller signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibs in July 2021, with the player joining the club in January 2022. Mueller made little impact after joining the club, and was allowed to return to America in May. Raith Rovers teenager Dylan Tait was signed on 31 August 2021, but was loaned back to the Fife club as part of the deal.[19]
During the January transfer window, top goalscorer Martin Boyle was sold to Saudi Professional League club Al Faisaly for around £3 million.[20]
| Player | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Jamie Murphy | Rangers | Free[21] |
| Daniel MacKay | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | Undisclosed[22] |
| Jake Doyle-Hayes | St Mirren | Free[23] |
| David Mitchell | Clyde | Undisclosed |
| Dylan Tait | Raith Rovers | Undisclosed |
| Chris Mueller | Orlando City SC | Free[24] |
| Elias Melkersen | Bodø/Glimt | £300,000[25] [26] |
| Demetri Mitchell | Blackpool | Undisclosed[27] |
| Runar Hauge | Bodø/Glimt | Undisclosed[28] |
| Emmanuel Johnson | Barça Residency Academy | Free[29] |
| Player | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen McGinn | Kilmarnock | Free[30] |
| Fraser Murray | Kilmarnock | Undisclosed[31] |
| Callum Yeats | Queen's Park | Undisclosed[32] |
| David Gray | Retired | Free[33] |
| Ofir Marciano | Feyenoord | Free |
| Jackson Irvine | St Pauli | Free[34] |
| Stevie Mallan | Yeni Malatyaspor | Undisclosed[35] |
| Tom James | Leyton Orient | Free[36] |
| Ryan Shanley | Edinburgh City | Free[37] |
| Jamie Gullan | Raith Rovers | Undisclosed[38] |
| Martin Boyle | Al Faisaly | £3 million |
| Melker Hallberg | St Johnstone | Free[39] [40] |
| Chris Mueller | Chicago Fire | Free[41] |
| Player | From |
|---|---|
| James Scott | Hull City[42] |
| Nathan Wood | Middlesbrough[43] |
| Ewan Henderson | Celtic[44] |
| Harry Clarke | Arsenal |
| Rocky Bushiri | Norwich City[45] |
| Sylvester Jasper | Fulham |