Lindsay says he won't take risks with Hibs' finances
Chief executive Scott Lindsay hopes Hibernian can continue challenging the Old Firm this season - without risking the club's finances to do so.
The Edinburgh side lie third in the Scottish Premier League, two points adrift of leaders Celtic.
"If we continue to do what we're doing, we'll see where that takes us and hopefully that's competing at the top end of the league," said Lindsay.
"But we won't take any undue risks with our long-term stability."
Despite the financial chasm that exists between the Old Firm and the rest, Hibs and Dundee United are hanging on valiantly to the coat-tails of the Glasgow giants.
Celtic and champions Rangers, who lie second, have drawn criticism from their own supporters after shedding more points than is customary and Lindsay is unsurprisingly delighted to be in a position to take advantage.
The team, so far, have surpassed our expectations. I don't think anyone could have reasonably expected the situation to have turned around as it has done.
Hibs chief executive Scott Lindsay
"The biggest criticism of the SPL has been that it's not competitive, but there's no lack of interest this season," Lindsay told BBC Scotland.
"People might dwell on the fact that the Old Firm are maybe struggling, not performing to the levels they would like.
"But I can see it only as a positive thing, that we have a very competitive league."
League leaders Celtic, managed by former Easter Road favourite Tony Mowbray, are expected to strengthen when the transfer window opens again.
But, while Hibs boss John Hughes may want to make an addition or two, he will be dealing on a completely different budgetary plain.
The Edinburgh club have posted profits for five years running, but Lindsay says they will not be abandoning their prudent approach.
"We back every manager to the best of our ability," he said of Hughes, whose side stretched their unbeaten run to 10 games with Saturday's 2-0 win over Motherwell.
John Hughes will have to make do with his young stars at Easter Road
Lindsay, who has been in his post at Easter Road since April 2008, has been impressed by his club's on-field progress this term but would not be drawn on whether a challenge for the title is realistic.
"It's not really something that we talk about," he said. "We talk about performances and obviously we want to win games. I'm sure the manager will keep everyone grounded.
"If we continue to do what we're doing, we'll see where that takes us and hopefully that's competing at the top end of the league.
"The team, so far, have surpassed our expectations. I don't think anyone could have reasonably expected the situation to have turned around as it has done.
"However, we are only a third of the way through the season and there's a long way to go."
Hibs' recent profitability owes much to an amazing run of players being nurtured then sold on, with the likes of Steven Fletcher, Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Steven Whittaker and Garry O'Connor generating large transfer fees.
Some of that money has been invested in a modern training complex and the conveyor belt of talent shows no sign of letting up, with David Wotherspoon, Paul Hanlon and Darren McCormack all emerging from the youth ranks to press first-team claims.
A healthy bank balance, also assisted by the recent sales of players brought in cheaply and developed at Easter Road, like David Murphy, Rob Jones, Ivan Sproule and Dean Shiels, has seen Hughes able to attract players of the calibre of Anthony Stokes and Liam Miller.
"It's down to hard work," said Lindsay. "The foundations were laid probably as far back as 2001/02, when we recognised that we needed to put our foot firmly on the brake in terms of wages and put a heavy focus on youth development.
"If you look at the trend with our wage outlay over the last few years, it's steady, gradually being able to invest more and more.
"That's not easy in the current climate, with broadcast revenue reduced and supporters with less money in their pockets.
"The single biggest thing you can do is produce football that they want to see."
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