Hearts ended Hibernian’s hopes of finishing second in a fiery derby match at Tyncastle on Wednesday night. The 2-1 defeat means that Hibs are likely to finish fourth this season, which is something that manager Neil Lennon has deemed “unacceptable.”
In an emotional post-match outburst, Lennon revealed he will consider his future at the Easter Road club after the season and could leave. It was clear that the Northern Irishman found the game distasteful, branding his side as unprofessional and stating he felt his players were not listening to him.
Hibs host Rangers on Sunday, but they need a six-goal victory to catch them so it doesn’t look like they can climb further than fourth before the end of season.
Lennon has been at the club for two years now and Hibs have come a long way since then, but he insists he has to “think about himself” and how he feels for his board meeting next week.
If Lennon did leave, would that set the Easter Road club back?
The 46-year-old is clever, ambitious manager who has won numerous leagues and cups and previously got Celtic into the last 16 of the Champions League. Not to mention he has led Hibs to their best league position in ten years.
Although Lennon’s outburst stemmed from the fact that the players didn’t perform to his standards and didn’t get the result they needed to take it to the final game, he also used the opportunity to challenge the board’s ambition.
Lennon has huge ambition and desire for the Hibees, but the lead has to come from the board, and they’re not backing him the way they should be. If they did, there’s a chance Lennon could bring Hibs up to the point where they are a constant challenge for Aberdeen.
If they don’t, then he might leave.
In his first season, Lennon won the Championship; bringing Hibs back into the top flight for the first time in three years and then managed to bring them up to fourth place.
He is a brave manager who isn’t afraid to make some big decisions, which showed when he let the club’s two main strikers go to bring in two other strikers who then went on to do even better for Hibs.
Lennon’s also brought back more support from fans, which is shown by the fact that season ticket sales have gone up.
If the fans back him all the way, then the board should too.
The Northern Irishman has been all over Scottish football and knows the pitfalls. Even more than that, he knows exactly what it takes to finish second to a team like Celtic.
Having looked at Wednesday’s result, he has realised that Hibs cannot do any better with the squad they have. So if he does stay, then he has a massive rebuild job to do after his first successful season in the top flight.
Lennon confirmed that midfielder Dylan McGeouch is to leave under freedom of contract, and the loan deals of Jamie Maclaren, Florian Kamberi, Scott Allan and Brandon Barker will all expire at the end of season. John McGinn is entering the final year of his contract, so his future at the club remains uncertain.
From Lennon’s dismissive reaction to finishing fourth, it is clear that he wants to take the club further. Looking at what he’s done this season there is no reason why he couldn’t get Hibs to a point where they consistently remain in the top four and pushing for second spot.
Something must not be right behind the scenes, and the board need to back him 100% and do what they can to accommodate him otherwise he might carry through on his very real threat to leave. After everything he has done for the Hibees, this could set them back.
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