Five Hibs managers in five years 'farcical' says Lewis Stevenson

LEWIS Stevenson, working this week under his fifth manager in as many years at Hibernian, described the high turnover of personnel occupying the Easter Road hotseat as "a bit farcical".

• Lewis Stevenson has worked under Tony Mowbray, John Collins, Mixu Paatelainen, John Hughes and now Colin Calderwood and yearns for some stability at Hibs Main picture: PA

Former Scotland under-21 international Stevenson has had plenty of time to sit and contemplate the state of affairs at the club, having been excluded from the Hibs team all season until the recall came prior to last Saturday's win over Kilmarnock.

Stevenson was speaking to broadcasters yesterday after Colin Calderwood's appointment on Monday and said out loud what most people are thinking. The situation where a 22-year-old has worked with five managers already does border on the ridiculous. He and his team-mates are crying out for some stability. Stevenson is particularly alert to the need for this as he begins the task of impressing yet another new manager in what is the last year of his current contract. Like 15 other Hibs players, he is a free to talk to other clubs come January.

"I have been here five or six years and have had five managers," Stevenson noted yesterday. "It's getting a bit farcical. I think the players have a bit of responsibility. Maybe we need to change the players rather than the manager. Maybe the change will bring me a bit of luck."

Stevenson has previously distinguished himself as a reliable chronicler of life at a football club and his views were refreshingly candid. There was also an absence of the usual desire of footballers to dismiss the past as the past in a hasty bid to absolve themselves of the blame for a manager's downfall.

This might not only have been expected from Stevenson, but it could have been seen as understandable. He did not make a single appearance this season under John Hughes, whose time in charge at Hibs came to an end earlier this month. Yet Stevenson admitted he "felt sorry" for the old manager and admitted the players might have done more to save him. It has to be noted that his own prospects under Calderwood, Hughes' successor, might have improved due to Stevenson's lack of association with the team's decline. But he knows the thoughts of his team-mates and it is clear there is an acceptance in the dressing-room that they had let the previous manager down. "I think the boys could see that none of them really performed at their best, and maybe we should take a look at ourselves as well," he said. "You always feel sorry for the manager when he leaves because it could easily be you in different circumstances. We have to get on with it, but personally I felt sorry for the old manager, and hopefully we can do better for the new manager.

I can't really say what goes on behind the scenes, but the people up top thought it was time for a change."

Later, in a briefing with reporters, Stevenson dwelled on his description of the managerial merry-go-round at Hibs. Stevenson initially saw first-team action under Tony Mowbray but blossomed when John Collins took charge.

Although he says he has learned different things from different managers his development has stalled in recent times as Hibs have struggled to find a manager on a long-term basis. "Maybe I should not have used the word farcical, but it's just the lack of continuity, with the different managers coming in," he said. "There's different styles and you have to adapt. Personally, it has worked out for me. I have learned a lot (under all the different managers]. But as a team maybe it has had more of a (negative] impact.

"We are professional players. We get paid to do it. We should be able to adapt," he added. "And this could be the time when the clubs gets stability. Since I have been here, there's always the initial boost in the first six months (of a new manager's reign] but then it tails off a bit. Maybe we need to give the managers a bit more time. But then it's easy for me to say that."

Stevenson was full of praise about Calderwood's impact so far, and he is hopeful that he might be given another chance to prove himself tomorrow afternoon, when Hibs travel to face Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the lunch-time kick-off. He was impressed by Calderwood's ability to put names to faces already and is heartened by his own memories of the manager as a player.

"I watched the Scotland games and Match of the Day when I was younger," said Stevenson. "He has played at the highest level. Obviously you can learn a lot from him. From first impressions the boys have really enjoyed the first couple of days, and are looking forward to the rest of the season. He (Calderwood] has come up here without an assistant and you can tell he has a lot of confidence," he added.

Stevenson believes he is a better player for having played under Hughes, even though that did not happen often enough in the first-team. It was starting to get him down, and he had begun to accept that his own career would likely have to continue away from Easter Road. "I tried to put a brave face on it when people asked me, and I would say there are still a lot of games to go," he said. "But deep down I thought: what am I going to do next year? I am going to need to start looking elsewhere. But you never know now. I will get a good idea at Christmas what is going to happen."