Bill Foley has offered an illuminating insight into the principles that guide his football operations.

The US billionaire's 'Black Knights' group last month acquired a 25 per cent stake in Hibs, bringing the promise of investment into the infrastructure and football budget at Easter Road. The deal, approved at Hibs' AGM in February, brings the club into the Black Knight Football Club network, which also includes Bournemouth, Lorient and Auckland.

Foley has invested over £200m in the Cherries since taking control of the club around 18 months ago, and while his Hibs outlay will not reach into that stratosphere by any means, he has explained his overarching philosophy, designed to promote incremental, sustained progression at a football club. He cites organic growth as being the most important factor, suggesting he is keen to make investments for the long term.

Asked how he keeps his word in delivering what he promises to Bournemouth supporters, Foley told Sky Sports: "Transparency. Be honest. Always tell the truth. I have big ambitions for this team, and I know we can do it. I've already done it with the Golden Knights, our hockey club.

"It's the same plan, the same programme. It's expensive, you've got to put a lot of money behind it to keep your word. The goal is, now that we've moved up the table a bit, which I was confident we'd do, I believe we'll start attracting more talent, better talent that will want to stay in Bournemouth. They won't want to move on. That's our job."

Foley's next ambition at Bournemouth is to guide the club into Europe. They are currently eight points adrift of a Europa Conference League place with seven games remaining, but with continued improvements in their squad and infrastructure, the 79-year-old is confident it is, in time, a very achievable goal.

It's believed he harbours similar continental hopes for Hibs - that with gradual investment and improvement, the club can become regular qualifiers for UEFA competition.

"Absolutely [it was my challenge to grow Bournemouth organically]," said Foley. "We want to play in Europe. Do we get to the top four or five? That's difficult, and complicated for Bournemouth.

"But with a new stadium and facilities, we can keep on doing better every year: improve a bit, improve a bit.

"We have a really good team, and it's motivated by becoming a team as opposed to a group of individuals. If we can keep on doing that as we move on to next season and the season after, we'll be successful.

"I had complete confidence in what we could do, once I met our management and football staff. I knew what we could do with the right resources behind it, the right attitude - a winning attitude, never give up. I knew we'd be OK.

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"Football is the greatest sport in the world, and the Premier League is the greatest league in the world. If you're going to invest in a league or team, why not invest in the best? Even if it's not the biggest team in the biggest town.

"For us, we're not a sovereign wealth fund, we're not financial sponsors. We have limited resources, so we went to a smaller club to try and make it better and better.

"We came to the UK to listen, to be part of the community - not be the arrogant American who comes in and wants to change everything. We've been very consistent in approaching our business philosophy, and will continue to be consistent. We will make mistakes, it's inevitable."