It's better late than never, I suppose. Ian Gordon deserves a bit of credit for coming out and facing the music – or at least the cameras – even if he should have done it long before now.
Gordon has held his hands up and admitted there’s been mistakes made at Hibs – and lots of them. I found it quite refreshing, to be honest. The Hibs fans deserved answers to the questions they have been asking in recent years and it’s no use hiding in the shadows. The lack of information coming out of the club let a lot of rumours run riot on the wild west social media.
But at least Gordon has addressed some of the issues and it does sound like there’s at last a willingness to learn from the past. He’s had to take a lot of criticism – some of it from this column – but it seems he’s taken it on the chin. Gordon admitted it was a knee-jerk reaction to sack Jack Ross a few years ago. That should be lesson No.1.
Ross had Hibs third in the league and in the League Cup Final. He hit a sticky patch and there was a section of the support who wanted rid. But there are times you need to hold firm and back the manager, rather than just jumping to the mob’s demands.
Hibs found out the hard way as the decision to appoint a rookie in Shaun Maloney backfired and then Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery didn’t work. I’m glad there was also an admission the recruitment policy had gone haywire and it is being addressed.
There was a feeling when Gordon was handed a role it was just his dad Ron giving him a gig and he had no clue about football. I’m not sure that image has changed much, even after his interview this week.
It could be he suspects all that himself – but the good thing is he had Malky Mackay in position now to guide the club, rather than Gordon floating whatever way the wind is blowing. Big Malky has a wealth of knowledge about the game as well as a bulging contacts book.
He’s been a manager at the very top level, worked in the youth set-up with the SFA and you could see his recruitment when he was boss at Ross County. Mackay will be a major help for Gordon in the coming months and years – as for David Gray as well.
I’m sure the fans liked what they heard from the interview but none more so than the manager. Holding the hands up and admitting they need to get away from the hiring-and- firing approach of recent years, should allow Gray to relax, even just a tad.
The international break will have done him and his squad good as well. It came at a good time after a difficult start to the season. These two weeks will have been priceless to get some work on the training ground and get some of the new boys up to speed. I remember going in at Falkirk and I had work to do to get up to speed.
Steven Pressley told me I wasn’t even going to see a ball over the international break, and, sure enough, he had Lee Bullen take me down the running track at Stirling University. I still get cold sweats thinking about the place.
It was brutal but it sorted me out and I’m sure the likes of Junior Hoilett won’t have enjoyed the last fortnight. It will give them a platform for the rest of the season though.
I know it’s been a tough start and Hibs have yet to win, but it should be all doom and gloom. The likes of Hoilett have to come in, Elie Youan is on his way and the new guys will have a couple of weeks training under their belts.
The first target has to be learning how to see out games. Hibs should have had victories in the bag against Dundee and Kilmarnock but suffered late collapses. That’s a psychological thing more than anything and they need to get into a tougher mindset.
It’s easier said than done. Even during my time at the club, you go back to the famous 4-4 game against Hearts. Losing two goals in stoppage time was a major boot in the delicates and that is the kind of thing that preys on your minds for a while.
Hibs need to come back with a bang this weekend. Listen, it’s ridiculously early to talk about a must-win game at this stage of the season. But it’s St Johnstone, Craig Levein, and the chance to get that first win under the belt.
Three points and things and start looking up again. Gordon’s address to the fans has been well received by the supporters but he’ll know it’s results on the pitch that is the key to keeping them on board.
