It’s fair to say that I’m not sad to see the back of a season that had promised so much but delivered so little. A 1-1 draw in Livingston, where Hibs conceded from a cross, showed little in the way of quality, and put in a performance that was instantly forgettable could barely have been a more apt way to close out the season.
I’ve never seen a good game on the plastic pitch in Livingston, regardless of the score the games are always a war of attrition with the ball pinballing about between the players. It is also fair to say that I’m not sad to see the back of Livingston and that pitch.
The game very much felt like two sides going through the motions. The hosts started the better of the two sides before Hibs got a foothold in the game but there was never enough between the teams to suggest someone was going to win.
Jordan Obita was awarded the Player of the Year and the Player’s Player of the Year award later on Sunday evening, I think he’s had a strong season, and I wouldn’t begrudge him the recognition in his debut season at Easter Road, although it has to be said that he didn’t have to fend off much in the way of competition.
READ MORE: Adam Le Fondre calls out 'certain people' in Hibs farewell
Hibs’ immediate priority is to hire a head coach to start the process of rebuilding a team that’s been in decline for too long. Malky Mackay spoke to Hibs TV last week and highlighted the need for the new head coach to be a ‘people catcher’ – someone charismatic and motivating enough to have players wanting to run through walls for them.
I think that characteristic is essential, for all the coaching prowess of Nick Montgomery, Lee Johnson, or Shaun Maloney, none of them had the inspirational presence of someone like Tony Mowbray or Neil Lennon.
We need someone that can quickly convince not just the players that they can be successful, but the fans as well. There is a proper funk around the club at the moment; the appointment of Mackay alienated some supporters, and the drab on-field performances and abysmal league campaign has alienated more.
The club needs a leader who can set standards, create a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, and who will put bums on seats at Easter Road by producing entertaining, winning football. Easter Road at its best is a fantastic place to watch football; When the team and the support connect few stadiums in the country match it (in my humble and very biased opinion).
So much rests on the shoulders of Mackay with the head coach appointment, he has to get it right – three failed managers can’t become four if the club is to recover from the shambolic season we’ve just endured.
Is this (Sir) David Gray’s time to be given the gig full time? He’s certainly served his apprenticeship since hanging up his boots. In the week that marked the eight year anniversary of his glorious bald napper ending Hibs’ wait for the Scottish Cup, there has been a lot of talk about his suitability for the role.
Hibs have been grooming Gray for the top job for a while now, each time he’s stepped into the interim role he has impressed and it’s worth remembering that it’s inevitably been a team in crisis that he’s been asked to work with.
READ MORE: Hibs quartet say farewell as one apologises to supporters
He lacks the experience of building a team, which is crucial for this summer but this inexperience could be mitigated by what should hopefully be an improved recruitment team with both Mackay and Brian McDermott on hand to support that process.
Gray certainly seems to command the respect of the team, and he has shown his own leadership qualities as a player and senior figure in the dressing room since arriving at the club when Alan Stubbs made him his first signing of a similar rebuild following Hibs’ relegation in 2014.
I certainly wouldn’t be upset if Gray was to be given the job, although if he is I hope that it’s because he’s the best person for the job and a thorough recruitment process has been completed, rather than it just feeling like the right thing under the circumstances.
Read the rules here