Jack Ross has been sacked by Hibernian after the club’s defeat by Livingston last night, their seventh loss in nine Premiership fixtures.
The 45-year-old came under increasing pressure during that spell, but the situation reached boiling point at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Supporters chanted for the removal of Ross as manager and he was relieved of his duties this morning.
It means Hibernian face a desperate search to find a new manager before the Premier Sports Cup final against Celtic on December 19. They beat Rangers in the semi-final on November 21 but that was one of only two victories in their past ten matches in all competitions. Having finish third last term, they now sit seventh, 11 points behind Edinburgh rivals Hearts.
Ross was appointed Hibernian manager in 2019 and led the club to last season’s Scottish Cup final, in which they were beaten by St Johnstone. In July, he signed a new contract until the summer of 2024 and Hibernian’s season got off to a positive start with a run of seven matches without defeat to open their league campaign.
However, their season began to tail off when they were beaten by Rangers on October 3, having initially led at Ibrox. Ross admitted after the defeat to Livingston that managers who preside over such poor form are a target for criticism by supporters. Hibs were beaten 1-0 but finished the match with nine men after Paul Hanlon and Paul McGinn were both sent off. Martin Boyle, who scored a hat-trick against Rangers in the League Cup semi-final, missed a first-half penalty.
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“It’s part of the job,” Ross said after the defeat. “I have done this for nearly 300 games now. By and large I have pretty positive times as a manager. You know you will get criticised and that criticism grows when you are not producing positive results. We’re not doing that right now.
“There’s times where I would be more defensive if I felt the performance was good because everyone judges it on the end result. But tonight all the criticism I receive will be justified because I am in charge of that team.”
Alex Neil, who worked alongside Ben Kensell, the Hibs chief executive, at Norwich City, has emerged as an early frontrunner for the job. Another candidate is Derek McInnes, the former Aberdeen manager. Hibs are set to face St Mirren in Paisley on Saturday.