Hibs have a winner right under nose
First a true story. Legendary Celtic striker George McCluskey was once coveted by Dundee United gaffer Jim McLean during a spell at Leeds United in the mid-1980s.
Never one to be indiscreet, Wee Jim called George and told him he was keen to take him to Tannadice.
Compliments were exchanged then it was down to sorting out the finer details of a deal.
Basic wage and bonuses to lure Chicken George back across the border were revealed – and he did his best not to laugh.
The money wasn’t close to what he was earning at Elland Road.
George politely said he’d think about it. Then Jim told him he was pushing the boat out with the money on offer. But it came with the caveat that he couldn’t live outside a 20-mile radius of Dundee.
It was a deal breaker for George and a way out. “Mr McLean, I can’t live in Dundee.
It’s not something I can consider.”
The phone went dead – then a voice boomed through the blower.
“Listen Mr Big Noise
... Dundee United are no longer interested in YOU.”
Maybe you had to be there to get the laugh.
It was so much simpler back then.
All of the cloak-anddagger operations being undertaken in the search for Hibs to find a new manager should be brought to a halt.
Stop the speculation, bring an end to the extravagant names being touted and the army of agents trying to bend majority shareholder Ron
Gordon’s ear. Finding a new man requires nothing more covert than popping down to their academy and asking Steve Kean if he wants the top job.
Phillip Cocu, Roy Keane and all the rest who’ve been sounded out should take a backseat – the appointment of Kean is a no-brainer.
The former Blackburn Rovers boss ticks so many boxes that they have a replacement for Shaun Maloney right under their nose.
What was a bizarre appointment as the club’s youth development guru can now become something more credible for a man with the experience and extensive contact base to take the club forward.
Managerial knowledge which would choke a horse, Kean is far too overqualified to be charged with coaching the Easter Road kids. He’s now also in the frame for the Charlton job so that could be a trigger for the club to show commonsense and allow him to take the step up.
Kean has been working with the SFA, putting the likes of
Jack Ross through his coaching badges.
There’s always been a class and expertise about a man who’s held in the highest regard within the game.
And he isn’t the sort of gamble that has backfired so spectacularly with Hibs in the past.
Managerial appointments don’t always need to be box office or from left field.
Sometimes the perfect candidate is on the pitch next to you in clear sight.
Kean has experience to take Hibs forward