Stevenson wonders if he should be sacked instead of manager

THERE have been six managers since Lewis Stevenson made his Hibs debut and he admits that there comes a time when players have to wonder if they should be shown the door rather than their various gaffers.

With Pat Fenlon set for his first full 90 minutes at the helm, against Rangers at Easter Road today, Stevenson says that players must all assume a greater responsibility for delivering the results needed to prolong his stay in the job.

Admitting that the managerial instability has been tough to contend with for a side low on confidence, he added that the players have to hold themselves partly culpable.

“I think that every time,” he said. “After every game, I think back to what I could have done better. It is hard, though. It’s not as if we can just get the sack like the manager seems to do, and you do feel sorry for them. Every manager we have had has put everything tinto the job, so it’s hard to see them coming and going. I have seen a few and you do think, ‘Maybe the club should be getting rid of me instead of the manager.’ But you are one player in a squad. You do have to look at yourself and what you can do, and you have to hope the players around you are doing the same.

“It’s maybe our fault that the managers keep coming and going and we have to take some responsibility but you have to just take every day as it comes.”

The bedding-in period has been frantic, with every player upping his intensity in training in a bid to catch the eye of the new boss and safeguard his future at the club.

“Whenever a new gaffer comes in, there’s always a lift. He [Fenlon] was quite quiet and reserved the first few days and he was standing back and watching everyone from afar, but I think he has been a lot more involved this week and has let us know the way we are supposed to be playing.

“He has really just got us back to basics and working hard, and that’s the only way we can get ourselves out this problem. We have to be harder to beat. That’s the foundation and we can move on from there.”

Against Motherwell last Friday, there were promising signs before the match was abandoned. But while Hibs’ 1-0 lead at half-time can offer some confidence, Stevenson said everyone should be wary of reading too much into it. “We played well but it was only half time. There have been a couple of games where we have been 1-0 up at half-time and not held on, so we can’t just say we would have won it. But I thought we played alright. We looked solid and dangerous and there were good signs, but you can’t really judge us on that.”

The bigger test will come this lunchtime when they face the league leaders in front of a home crowd which has been vocal in its disapproval of recent performances.

“They have been on our back a bit, but I understand why and I if I was in the stand, I would be doing the same. We can’t use that as an excuse. We are professional footballers and we have to rise above what is happening. If we are playing well and winning every week and they are still shouting at us, then we can start to moan.”

But in a match few will bet on them winning, the players have a chance to flourish. “It is always good when you play the Old Firm, because nobody expects you to get a result. But when we played Celtic at Parkhead we went in with that same attitude and we did all right. So, hopefully, with it being the manager’s first home game and the fact Rangers usually bring a good support , it’s going to be a good atmosphere, a good game and something to give the fans something to be excited about if we put on a good performance.”