Hibernian have announced they had begun the hunt for a new manager following the surprise departure of Mixu Paatelainen.

Paatelainen, 42, quit after 16 months in the job on Friday, reportedly because he was unhappy with the budget he had been asked to work with next season.

Chief executive Scott Lindsay told Hibs' official website, www.hibs.co.uk: "We know that the job as manager of Hibernian is one of the most appealing jobs in Scottish football, and for very good reasons."

He added: "This club provides the incoming manager with a superb infrastructure, a squad that contains genuine talent, and a budget that should ensure we are competitive at the upper end of the league.

"We will be looking for a talented and ambitious individual who wants to take all that we offer and drive the club forward to have us challenging where we all feel we belong at the top end of the SPL and challenging for Europe.

"We expect considerable interest, and undoubtedly there will be a great deal of speculation.

"Hibernian supporters should be reassured that we will - as ever - seek to go through this process as professionally as we can without fuelling speculation and that once we have something positive to report, we will make the appropriate announcement.

"Until then, I am sure they will be patient, continue to support their club, and expect us to behave in a professional and courteous way towards all applicants."