As 2021 draws to a close it’s been an eventful few weeks at Easter Road.
Jack Ross lost his job after a poor run of league results book-ended a wonderful performance against Rangers at Hampden, club hero David Gray took temporary charge and led the team out against Celtic in the League Cup final before Shaun Maloney was unveiled as the club’s new boss on a 3.5-year deal.
And all of that happened within the space of two weeks.
Jack Ross’ sacking in itself wasn’t hugely surprising after one league win, against the side currently sitting bottom of the Premiership, in nine matches. What was more of a shock was the timing of the decision with only a few days until the League Cup final and the January transfer window on the horizon.
Goals were being shipped at one end while starting to feel increasingly hard to come by at the other. Discipline, both in the traditional sense of fouls and yellow/red cards and in the approach to defending and attacking, started to slip and became a huge reason for the poor points return.
We became a side that looked like we were expecting a different outcome after repeating the same things game after game. Crosses kept leading to opposition goals and Martin Boyle continued to look like the only way we were going to score. Add in six red cards in nine league games and you arrive at the end of the road for Jack Ross.
For a combination of reasons the players weren’t performing. A summer transfer window which left a lot to be desired resulted in a thin, uncompetitive squad made up of eight or nine players likely to start every week when fit even if their last match was below par.
When the time came, the club acted quickly with Jack Ross and assistant John Potter relieved of their duties less than 24 hours after an abysmal performance against Livingston at the Tony Macaroni. A really poor night in West Lothian saw us fall to a 1-0 defeat while both Paul Hanlon and Paul McGinn were sent off within minutes of each other.
Opinion was divided amongst the support about the decision sack Ross, as it has been for months on the subject of his time in charge of Hibs more generally. On paper his achievements are as good as any Hibs manager in the last 20 years – a third place finish and a handful of appearances at Hampden are about as good as it’s been recently.
Ross’ record in ‘big games’ and the team’s style of play caused people to question his suitability for the job. It was a minority last season with the league table largely outweighing the criticism, but this year’s nine game run gave those sceptical about his role as manager even more reason to voice their displeasure at games and online.
This came to a head most clearly at Livingston, where a section of the support began calling for the manager’s head during the match and at full time. In the end it was a step too far for the decision makers at Easter Road and led to Ross leaving the club.
I’m always disappointed when managers leave Hibs – it usually signals the end of a disappointing period for the club and also throws up a harrowing feeling of uncertainty as the merry-go-round of Scottish football managers starts running through my mind.
We’ve had our fair share of poor appointments in recent years and it always feels like a gamble to look for a new recruit in the middle of the season. That in itself shouldn’t stop us from aiming higher though – it’s true that the grass isn’t always greener but sometimes a change is required even if it’s not a certainty.
On the whole Jack Ross will be remembered for a solid league season and lots of nearly moments at Hampden. Unfortunately for Ross it’s those nearly moments that will be at the forefront of the minds of lots of Hibs fans.
Ultimately, he left the club in a better position than where he found it and for that he deserves a large amount of credit in my book.
Following the Livingston defeat attentions turned to who might be in line to replace Ross. With a really sharp decision to remove the management team it was expected that the club would have their next target lined up and after a few days of uncertainty it became clear that Shaun Maloney was the first choice to take over at Easter Road.
A first-time manager with lots of coaching experience at a good level with Celtic and the Belgium national team, Maloney brings a freshness to the Premiership and a welcome diversion from the list of usual names linked with the vacancy before his appointment.
Hibs acted quickly to tie down their man and his coaching staff, with all four new members of the management team announced at the same time and out working with the squad at HTC on Monday morning.
First impressions are positive, with Maloney speaking clearly about his ambitions for the club and his readiness for the job despite it being his debut as a manager. His experiences as a coach and as a student at the Johann Cruyff Institute demonstrate his ability within football and his desire to keep learning.
It’s worth noting that Maloney’s appointment as ‘Manager’ seems to signify a change in football structure at the club. Since relegation in 2014 all new recruits have been ‘Head Coaches’ within a management structure which included a Head of Football Operations or more latterly a Sporting Director.
There appears to be little appetite to replace former Sporting Director Graeme Mathie – who departed the club earlier in the season – and instead new CEO Ben Kensell has indicated he and Steve Kean will take a more hands on approach to behind-the-scenes tasks.
Time will tell if this change will prove successful but it’s the latest sign that Kensell and majority shareholder Ron Gordon are looking to do things their way in Leith.
On the pitch new man Maloney got off to a winning start on Wednesday night as Ryan Porteous’ header secured all three points against Aberdeen – it was a significant result both in league terms and in the context of a new era for the club.
For the first time in a number of weeks supporters can start looking in the right direction in the Premiership table with Motherwell now only a couple of points better off in fourth place, while a victory of any kind over Aberdeen is a benchmark achievement given their league finishes over the years.
There were early positive signs that Maloney is looking to put his own stamp on things – a tweak in formation, Scott Allan back in the side from the start and an energetic, pressing first half all pointing towards a new approach for the Hibees.
The clean sheet is also a huge positive and gives the squad something to build on going forward, although Maloney did attribute much of that to David Gray’s input as caretaker manager before his appointment.
As an aside it’s brilliant to see Gray involved in the new coaching team – he handled himself with immense dignity during a tough couple of weeks and the longer he’s involved at Easter Road the better.
The decision to bring forward to winter break to coincide with the latest Covid restrictions could also work in the club’s favour, giving Maloney more time to hammer home the fundamentals of his style of play to the squad on the training pitch while the January transfer window will allow him to explore reinforcements ahead of the second half of the season.
A trip to Tannadice is never an easy task but it feels as if a good result on the road on Boxing Day could set us up perfectly for 2022.
Here’s hoping for a return to capacity crowds in the new year and a more positive, feel-good factor returning to Easter Road with Shaun Maloney at the helm.
Glory glory to the Hibees.
The East Stand 
Good summary of events of late . Early days but certainly excited about the appointment. JR lost a lot of support with the Hamden performance. Legend status passed up . Not all down to him as I think the players need to ask themselves was that good enough. The Rangers result was great however I think the die had already been set . The drop in attendances and season ticket holders not turning up es certainly alarm . However time to look forward Ggtth
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