Players can tell me I’m wrong. I like the debate
Ross encourages clear-the-air talks
ONE fit striker struggling under an iniquitous burden, three defeats on the spin — and just a single victory in their last six Scottish Premiership games. This is no time to be blinkered when it comes to messaging and methodology.
Even as thoroughly modern manager Jack Ross continues to push his collaborative approach with the Hibernian squad, then, he has actively encouraged the kind of old-school dressing-room summit that some modern players find so difficult.
The former Sunderland and St Mirren boss understands that, in the unforgiving environment of professional football, it’s often impossible to couch unpleasant truths in diplomatic language.
The big difference with Ross is that, in a very clear change from his own playing days, even the ‘gaffer’ himself expects — even wants — to be on the receiving end.
Revealing his role in the player-led post-mortem that followed Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Aberdeen, Ross said: ‘I instigated the chat at Pittodrie and I asked them to do it. I am comfortable with them having that chat.
‘By nature, I don’t think players are great at it. A lot of modern-day players don’t like expressing their opinions in front of the group. So you have to create the environment they can do it in.
‘There are still some who won’t do it but it helps them to share their opinion. We think being open can help find solutions.
‘I encourage debate from the players. Not all players are comfortable with that setting but I also have it on an individual basis with me.
‘I don’t mind being told that I am wrong or I am being criticised. I might not agree with them but it doesn’t bother me.
‘I think the boys trust in that and we have good communication.
‘During stickier periods, you need that openness as it allows you to express yourself.
‘Like most players I didn’t like criticism, few players do. Being criticised aggressively in front of your peers, human nature dictates you go defensive or aggressive in your response.
‘When I went into management, I wanted to encourage players and I didn’t want to shut things down.
‘During my playing days you weren’t allowed an opinion. Or, if you did give it, you were quickly told to be quiet.’
Ross takes a fairly sanguine approach to sniping from those not privy to the inner workings of his club and his squad.
While ignoring a lot of the white noise by design, he actually embraces the idea of Hibs fans leaping on any slip in standards.
Ross has, however, spoken out about honest criticism tipping into abuse, particularly on social media.
Asked yesterday if he felt the general tone of fan interaction with players had darkened significantly over the years, he said: ‘With online stuff, you’ve obviously no frame of reference because it wasn’t around years ago.
‘I certainly do think there are aspects of online stuff that go way beyond the pale.
‘That’s not just in football but in life, in society as a whole, the impact it has on young people, how they view themselves and the actions they take on the back of that. I’ve not been a fan of it for a long time because of that.
‘Now it’s getting greater attention within football because people have highlighted it.
‘Within stadiums, it’s kind of always been there, hasn’t it? And the tribal aspect of it is what gives, in some cases, Scottish or UK football such an intense atmosphere.
‘But there is a fine line between passion and the kind of language you use within that.’
Hibs will hope to give their home crowd few reasons to complain about anything tomorrow night.
As confident as Ross might be, however, he is quick to point out how the club’s failure to land another striker before the transfer deadline — along with an injury to Christian Doidge — has impacted on his team.
Addressing lone striker Kevin Nisbet’s struggles, the Scotland forward having netted just twice in the league so far, the head coach said: ‘There’s a lot of onus on Kevin because we don’t have another striker in our whole squad. Not a natural striker, anyway.
‘Jamie Gullan is more of a wide player who comes in off the side, can play up front but it’s not his natural position. Martin Boyle can do it but it’s not his natural position either.
‘Within our whole first-team squad, we don’t have another striker. So there is a big onus on him at the moment.
‘It’s difficult even to change things during the game if he’s feeling fatigued, if he’s feeling not at his best.
‘But he would back himself. He’s had plenty of challenges in his career.
‘Kevin has had to show resilience to get back up to this level of the game, from where he was. He’ll show that same resilience again through this period.
‘I think I expressed that (frustration over not signing a striker) at the time. We could have had a better window in that regard.
‘Are we suffering for it a little bit now, in terms of areas of the pitch where we felt depth was needed?
‘We are where we are. And it’s my job to get the best out of what’s available. So I’m not going to use it as an excuse or complain about it It’s quite plain we’re a little bit restricted in some of the choices we can make.’