Rod Petrie outpouring leaves Hibs fans divided

IT READS as though Rod Petrie had forgotten to pack his cap on the trip to Berwick on Saturday, and suffered the consequences of exposing his head to the merciless rays of the sun.

The Hibernian chairman's uncharacteristically expansive, surprisingly catty and at times almost meandering comment on where the club stand with regard to Colin Calderwood has divided supporters.

It has been welcomed by those who have urged Petrie to show some emotion in connection to their, and his, club. Others, however, were disappointed, since it appeared to confirm Hibs were doing everything possible to hold onto a manager who some feel has made it abundantly clear that he no longer wants to be there.

Petrie has been wounded by this tug of war for his manager which has been taking place beneath his moustachioed nose. It seems he has been moved to breaking point by the unprincipled shenanigans which threaten to deprive his club of a manager just a matter of a fortnight before the start of the season. "Hand me my pen, Fyfe," he might have muttered, a sentence likely to have startled Fyfe Hyland's, the club's communications and commercial director. The next thing we know there are people wondering whether Vladimir Romanov had somehow hacked into Petrie's account such was the colourful turn of phrase on display in the posting on the club's website yesterday, pouring forth beneath the unpromising headline: "club update". Petrie has often been portrayed as the antidote to Romanov, the eccentric owner of Hearts. Here, however, the mask has slipped slightly. Petrie presents himself as someone not above taking a rather unnecessary swipe at a perceived friend-turned-enemy of the club, in the way Romanov has identified Gary Mackay as a noxious influence. Interestingly, the man who Petrie has rounded on is another former club legend, with John Hughes archly referred to only as the "previous incumbent" by the chairman.

"We have now stripped away the unworkable legacy saddled upon the club by the previous incumbent," he notes. Some will argue that Calderwood does not deserve to be handed such a convenient excuse for failure to make the progress expected. They might also recall Petrie thanking Hughes for his "hard work", his "honesty" and also his "dedication" in October, after he had left the club. There was no talk of 'unworkable legacies' then. Hughes had every right to sound hurt when contacted by The Scotsman yesterday.

Yet, it's clear Petrie has been hurt too. Hurt by the criticism that Hibs have been doing too little to hold onto their manager. Or, indeed, that they have been doing too much. He has been wounded, also, by Calderwood's inability to commit himself to the club, when handed ample opportunity to do so.Petrie also feels let down by what he suspects is a line of communication running between Nottingham Forest manager Steve McClaren, Calderwood and a gentleman called Colin Gordon, who the Hibs chairman, warming to his theme of duplicity and distortion, described as the "mysterious 'third man'" yesterday. Gordon is a former team-mate of Calderwood's at Swindon Town and links Calderwood with McClaren by working as agent for the pair. It provides an answer for those who wondered why McClaren seemed so intent on recruiting Calderwood, with whom he appeared to have no obvious connection.

There is another communication line running between Calderwood and Chris Hughton, who is just as keen to take the manager to Birmingham City. It's easy to see why Petrie feels undermined, although Hibs do hold the trump card. He revealed that Forest have only made one formal approach and that was as far back as 24 June. It was rejected. "They do not have permission to speak to the Hibernian manager," wrote Petrie, with relish presumably. "No club has permission to speak to the Hibernian manager." But what is the point of clinging to somebody whose heart lies elsewhere?

Nowhere in the statement does it say Calderwood has given his chairman an assurance that he intends to stay and honour the contract he signed just nine months ago. He is credited as being "thoughtful" and "professional" but nothing more than that. Rather, Petrie stresses only that Hibs are committed to Calderwood. "Hibernian wants Colin Calderwood as its manager," the chairman declares, having obviously failed to take soundings from supporters. "Hibernian has Colin Calderwood as its manager". It is veering dangerously close to the self-delusion of a spurned lover who refuses to accept a partner's insistence that their relationship has ended. Petrie seems transfixed by the idea that Hibs will enjoy the benefit of Calderwood's 'second-season bounce', something he has identified from the manager's former periods in charge at Northampton Town and Forest.

As an accountant, it is no surprise Petrie has turned to statistics to support his case for wishing to retain Calderwood. But they are shockingly selective, as even he concedes. He highlights the ten games played between the close of the transfer window and the split, a run during which Hibs won six times and were defeated only twice. "Their relevance is the fact that these matches were when the chips were down," he writes. The chips were only down because Calderwood's team had won only two of their previous 17 matches. They also failed to win any of their five post-split clashes.

Nevertheless, it appears Calderwood has done enough to convince Petrie. After what they read yesterday, whether the Hibs fans have had their faith in the manager restored is another question.