Kev knew the pitfalls of taking over at Rovers
That new Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom has a hard act to follow at Easter Road is not open to debate.
When announcing the departure of Neil Lennon, and his assistant Garry Parker, the Edinburgh club took the unusual step of officially referencing the successes of their two-and-a-half years in charge. Over the period they won promotion to the top flight, reached the top four with a record points total, qualified for Europe and recorded the best season-ticket sales figures since 1958.
The Yorkshireman, though, hasn’t just accepted the toughest job in Scottish football – that position is already taken.
Filled three months ago by a man who, back in the 1990s, starred for Hibs in a style that would chime in seamlessly with the swaggering displays of Lennon’s XI at their best. At 43, Kevin Harper is now beyond such physical challenges.
Just as well, he has enough to be getting on with trying to make sure Albion Rovers cling on to their place in the senior leagues and avoid the sort of prolonged exile suffered by East Stirlingshire.
That’s no easy job with a group of players who have won just once all season, and not at all under his charge.
It was a job that I know a lot of other coaches would take a look at and say: ‘No, that’s not for me’
If a play-off against the pick of the Lowland and Highland Leagues is a safety net against the big drop, it is of the type offered in Indiana Jones films – poised above a pit of snakes or a 1,000-ft precipice.
“There is definitely jeopardy in the situation,” said Harper, who also numbers Derby, Portsmouth and Dunfermline among his previous employers in his playing days.
“But I’d argue that holds true at all levels. While teams might not be at risk of going out of the league altogether, there is relegation from top to bottom.
“More importantly, I absolutely knew the pitfalls going ahead when I was appointed in November. I went into this with open eyes.
“Albion Rovers were bottom of the bottom league and had only one win to their name so by definition it is the toughest job in Scottish football.
“It was a job that I know a lot of other coaches would take a look at and say: ‘No, that’s not for me’.” The Glaswegian, though, was a special case.
Before landing the Rovers job he’d had, by his estimation, in excess of 30 rejections for other posts in the game. By accepting the Cliftonhill job, he became Scotland’s first black manager in 15 years.
“I have always just looked to be judged on my own merits and this was no different,” he said.
“As a player I was lucky enough to have some fantastic experiences and to work for and alongside some terrific professionals.
“I have played under Harry Redknapp, Tony Pulis and Alex Miller. All were very good bosses in different ways and an inspiration to me now. “And among my former teammates, are the likes of Teddy Sheringham, Robert Prosinecki and Paul Merson.
“They were all terrific players, with Merse off the scale at times.
“So when I finished my playing career I wanted to put that experience to positive use, to pass it on through my coaching.
“Getting the chance to get my foot on the first rung of the ladder was a challenge. And that is even allowing for the fact I wasn’t looking for a Hibs, but to start off down at the bottom.
“That’s OK, though, as I got there in the end and I’m aware it is a journey plenty of young coaches face.
“If everything had been going along great with Rovers, then the job would almost certainly not have been available.
“Even if it had, say because the manager was moving to another club, I wouldn’t be the one being brought in to replace him.
“So I was inheriting a group who had almost forgotten how to win football matches, having become accustomed to losing every other week.
“For their part they knew they were getting a rookie, someone who would have to do his learning on the job. That’s OK, Jose Mourinho didn’t start off as manager of Manchester United.
“We are all in it together and the support I have had from the board has been terrific, which is just as well because it has been tough. “I have changed the team almost completely, with myself and my assistant, Joe Mclaughlin, using every contact and every trick that we know to try to get the quality up – on and off the pitch.
“It is working but, of course, we need to start winning games. Just one victory would make all the difference.
“Just like that, instead of going home to your family down in the dumps again, you are talking about getting to go back with a smile on your face to the people who have been there supporting you week in, week out.
“We will maybe have a can of beer or two that night.
“The players’ confidence would shoot up and I am convinced that would give us the collective momentum we need to catch Berwick and save us from having to win a play-off to stay in the league.
“Listen, though, if the worst comes to the worst, we will embrace the challenge and back ourselves to win through. There are some good sides in the Lowland League, but we would still hope we had enough in hand.”
It is an attitude, Harper believes, which Heckingbottom will need to adopt in his new role at Easter Road. “I loved my years with Hibs, so they are a club that is always going to be close to my heart,” he said. “And as someone who follows events there, I have to say I was really surprised Hibs let Neil Lennon go.
“You look in from the outside and he seemed the perfect fit for the club.
“He is an intelligent guy, one who has enjoyed a big profile in the game since his days playing for Celtic, Leicester and Northern Ireland.
“Since becoming a manager he has done really well, at Celtic first and then, as Hibs themselves have detailed, at Easter Road. “What shouldn’t be forgotten either is the brand of attacking football he got his teams playing.
“They were the best watch in the country last season, bar none. “So the new guy is going to have his work cut out for him, we can see that.
“Not least because there will be those in the support who would probably rather have seen the club go for a former Hibs player. “There is also an argument maybe that they could have looked for someone with experience of managing up here which would take in the likes of Steve Clarke, Alan Stubbs or Gary Naysmith. “But they have chosen to look further afield, and Heckingbottom has been given what is one of the best jobs we have available to managers in this country.
“It is a great chance for him and I am sure he will be looking to make an impact in the same way other coaches who have come up here have done in the past.
“Things didn’t work out for him at Leeds, but the club have highlighted the great reputation he had at Barnsley for promoting youth and getting his teams playing good, attacking football.
“If he can do that at Hibs then he will be half way to settling in.
“They’ve plenty of talent with Stevie Mallan, both a prime example and someone he will know from Barnsley.
“Hibs have always been a great club, one of the country’s biggest and best. Plus the infrastructure is there for them to challenge. “The new guy is also going to need a little bit of luck – we all do in management.
“I may only be three months into the job, but I definitely already appreciate that.”
As Hibs fans hope for champagne days to come, Kevin Harper’s can of beer remains on ice.