AN EMOTIONAL ENCORE
Hibernian fans gave the returning hero a standing ovation — and now Stubbs will have centre stage to thrill those audiences again
BY his own admission, Alan Stubbs feels a strong debt of gratitude to Hibs. It was at Easter Road, 13 years ago, when the former Celtic defender made his f i rst- team return f rom a second bout of cancer.
He was lucky to be there. After an i nitial procedure to deal with testicular cancer in May 1999 came a small cancerous growth on the right side of his spine.
Told by a doctor to forget about playing football again, he ignored the advice. Within months, he marked his return to the Celtic first team with the fourth goal in a 5-2 victory in the capital in 2001.
‘Even the Hibs fans gave me a standing ovation,’ he recalled in his book of last year, aptly named: ‘How Football Saved My Life’.
‘It was touching, very emotional, something that will live with me for the rest of my life. I would like to thank all the Hibs fans for that.’
The chance to repay the debt has arrived unexpectedly.
The f ormer Bolton, Everton, Derby County and Celtic defender has been coaching Everton’s Under-21 side and was interviewed f or the manager’s j ob before Roberto Martinez was appointed last summer.
But Hibs is his first senior coaching post and amongst supporters the appointment i s regarded as a gamble ahead of a Championship campaign when they go head-tohead with Rangers and Hearts for automatic promotion and the play-off shot at a Premiership opponent.
On a fans’ forum yesterday, less than five per cent of the respondents
“Stubbs sees a challenge and he grabs it”
declared themselves overwhelmed with the Englishman’s appointment. Any hopes Stubbs might have of another ovation from the Easter Road stands, then, seem misplaced — at least for the moment.
Neither will he have the support of Goodison reserve-team assistant David Unsworth, his first choice for assistant manager now unlikely to follow him north.
There will almost certainly be a Director of Football to lean on, however.
Chief executive Leeann Dempster — recently arrived from Motherwell herself — is keen to introduce a ‘continental-style’ structure at the club. Former Falkirk managing director George Craig has already been tipped for the role.
As Hibernian’s seventh managerial appointment in eight years, Stubbs will need all the help he can get.
Returning to pre-season training this week, the Leith outfit had j ust 15 senior players and no goalkeeper.
Yet Stubbs is no stranger to daunting, testing, adverse situations. He confronted cancer and lived to tell the tale.
But managing Hibernian is often detrimental to a man’s well-being. Certainly, his career.
Tony Mowbray ended a successful two-and-a-half-year spell in charge in 2006. Since then, John Collins, Mixu Paatelainen, John Hughes, Colin Calderwood, Pat Fenlon and Terry Butcher have all failed t o make it to t heir s econd anniversary.
Yet Murdo MacLeod, a former Hibs c aptain and assistant manager, coached Stubbs to a Scottish league title at Celtic and believes the Easter Road post represents a superb opportunity for a coach on the make.
‘Alan knows what he wants and he says what he thinks,’ MacLeod told Sportsmail.
‘He will do what he thinks is good for the team first and foremost.
‘At Celtic, he was always a good team player. He is also a strong character as he showed in the way he refused to give in to cancer.
‘He doesn’t feel sorry for himself, he gets on with it.
‘He sees a challenge in front of him and he grabs it and has a go at it. He doesn’t flinch.
‘Hibs need that now. They now have a fresh face, someone hungry with fresh ideas who has been coaching for a while and looking for an opportunity at a good level.
‘I know Alan had a good job coaching at Everton — but this is a fantastic job for him I think.
‘Hibs are still a super football club.’
The first competitive fixture for Hibernian is in the Challenge Cup on July 26. A home league opener against Livingston arrives on August 9.
A week l ater comes the first Edinburgh derby of the season against Hearts at Tynecastle.
‘Obviously, the Championship is a lower league than he would have wanted,’ added MacLeod, ‘ but if it’s a challenge he’s after, then he has found one.
‘The Hibs fans expect promotion. But so do the fans of Hearts and Rangers — and only two of them can get up.
‘ That competition and those teams in the league makes it an attractive job. Hibs are still a big club and they have a big challenge ahead.
‘It’s not just about Hearts and Rangers. The likes of Falkirk and Queen of the South are going to put up hard games, as well.
‘But Hibs have a great fanbase and when they are behind you, it’s a great place to play and manage a football team.’
Currently, Hibs can barely put a football team on the park. Eleven players were released at the end of t he season, a mongst t hem goalkeepers Ben Williams and Sean Murdoch.
‘Alan will suss out quickly which ones he can rely on to fight by his side,’ said MacLeod.
‘The big thing he has to do now is bring in players.
‘It’s up to the people above him to back him, because Hibs have got to have a real go at this.
‘The last thing they want is to be stuck in the Championship for two years.’
Stubbs, no doubt, has his eye on bigger prizes. On the SPFL Premiership and, if he succeeds at Hibs, perhaps even a managerial move to Celtic — a club he credits with saving his life.
‘If any manager is successful and one of their former clubs becomes without a manager, then they are quickly installed as one of the favourites,’ added MacLeod.
‘But there’s a great job ahead of Stubbsy at Hibs first. I wish him all the best.’