Danny Swanson: Neil Lennon exit ‘no surprise to me’

Danny Swanson in action for St Johnstone. Pic: SNS/Roddy Scott

But there was no sense of surprise for St Johnstone midfielder Danny Swanson, a self-confessed Hibs fanatic, who had an unproductive season with his boyhood club after being signed by Lennon in the summer of 2017.

On Wednesday, the parting of the ways between head coach and club was confirmed through a statement in which all parties played happy families, to much scoffing and merriment.

The cynicism powered into overdrive, not least because only hours before the ultimately pivotal gathering with his players, Lennon had said he couldn’t keep “whipping” his players but would do so because he equally could not accept “half-baked” performances as the club struggled in eighth place as a result of winning only two of his final 14 league matches.

Swanson offers a refreshingly frank response when asked if the departure of Lennon – which Hibs stressed wasn’t a resignation or a sacking and was not prompted by any wrong-doing from the manager – had surprised him.

“Not really,” said the 32-year-old. “Everybody knows what Neil is like. He is a passionate man and it just seems like he has got to a point where the club and Neil have mutually agreed it is time to move on. We will see how Hibs do now.

“I didn’t see it coming but it is a big job in Scotland and they are obviously in the bottom six and they shouldn’t really be. Sometimes it helps getting a new manager in, so we will see. He has got high standards but so has every other manager. It is just football isn’t it? You just never know. A manager’s job is hard, a few results go against you and you are in trouble. They have obviously decided to look elsewhere and we will see how they go.”

Lennon, open about the challenges he has had with his mental health, proved compassionate towards Swanson over the player’s previous history with depression that led to a spell in The Priory seven years ago. Yet, even if he wasn’t subjected to a Lennon rant, from his own standpoint Swanson has doubts over the effectiveness of an approach adopted sometimes by the Northern Irishman who was not averse to brutally filleting the Hibs players in public.

“He didn’t really shout at me, he just never played me! That was my problem,” said Swanson. “Off the pitch, he was very approachable but I don’t know, the Hibs players need to look at themselves as well but when boys are low on confidence the last thing you want is somebody shouting at you. That is how I felt throughout my career. All the managers I have done well for, I am not saying they have been soft but when boys are on your back it is difficult. You are going to the game worrying about your performance instead of somebody saying, ‘go and just play’. I have always done well for the managers who have just told me to go and play.

“There are a lot of good players and high quality professional players that when the going gets tough they are really good. I think if boys, your Horgans and Gaulds and that, if they are given the freedom to go and play they will hurt teams. Hibs have got to go and look for a manager that will play attractive football – I think that is massive for Hibs. Especially on that big pitch they have got. I think if they get the right man then they could very well be up there again.

“I am a massive Hibs fans but when I was there it didn’t work out. There are a lot of Hibs fans in that team: your Paul Hanlons and Lewis Stevensons, boys there that to be honest didn’t really need a manager to get them going. That is the spine of their team, that is what they need. Get a good manager in and you just never know.”

A good manager would by Tommy Wright, a successful mentor to Swanson across three spells with the Perth club. The midfielder doesn’t want that to happen, though, and believes a second spell at Hibs for Alan Stubbs, the club’s 2016 Scottish Cup-winning manager, would have considerable merit.

“Tommy is brilliant with me,” Swanson said. “He lets me go and play and I will work hard when I need to. He has been spot on with me since I have been back. I hope it’s not him, though. But he deserves a shout at least because he has been unbelievable. I don’t know why it is he doesn’t get a tip for these jobs. It is good for us I suppose. It is very surprising.

“I think Stubbs would be good. I think he would be a good appointment. He has obviously won the cup, and you think about the way they played under him. I know they were in the Championship but with the players they have got now I think they would do better in the Premiership. They have lost [John] McGinn and [Dylan] McGeouch but they have still got good players there. Darren Ferguson would have been my first choice but he went back to Peterborough. I thought he would be massive for Hibs, I worked with him for two years and the way he brought me on as a player was massive...and we all know who his dad is. I always thought why would they not go for him but it is too late now.”