Terry Butcher can get Hibs winning - Handling

HIBS midfielder Danny Handling believes Terry Butcher can prove the ideal man to restore confidence at the Edinburgh club and kick-start their season.

Handling would be relieved to see Butcher in place after a period of uncertainty surrounding the club. Picture: Ian Rutherford

As the Englishman prepares to take over the hotseat along with long-term assistant Maurice Malpas, Handling has backed the former Rangers and England captain to repeat the outstanding success he has enjoyed with Caledonian Thistle.

Speaking before yesterday’s announcement that the two clubs had successfully thrashed out a compensation package, the young Hibs player said: “I would be happy if he took over because he’s a good manager.

“You see what he has done at Inverness, he’s got them high up the table and they are in a (Scottish League Cup) semi-final as well. He has proved he is a good manager at that club.

“Our team is low on confidence. I think we are the lowest-scoring team in Scotland and that speaks for itself.

“But whoever comes in could change that within one game and get us firing in goals and winning games again.”

Butcher looked on from the Easter Road main stand on Saturday as the impressive Inverness side he had shaped claimed a 2-0 win over his Hibs to move into second spot in the Scottish Premiership.

Handling added: “They came to Easter Road on Saturday and bossed the game. They deserved to win and that shows how good a job Terry Butcher has done up there and, if he does get the job, what he could potentially do.”

The 19-year-old admitted he would be relieved to see Butcher in place after a period of uncertainty surrounding the club.

He said: “We don’t know what’s happening. There are a lot of players who are confused and lacking confidence. A new manager could change that completely. We are just biding our time to see who gets the job. Hopefully he takes a shine to the boys and he can build a good team and start climbing that table.

“The boys are just trying to go about their business as usual and play every weekend.

“There’s not really a structure to the team because there is no manager. Everything is in place at this club for the team to do well – we just need that final piece of the jigsaw to complete us.”

Handling – who scored seven goals in seven games during a loan spell at Berwick Rangers two seasons ago – has been called up to the Scotland Under-21 squad and could make his debut at that level when they host Georgia in a European Championship qualifier on Thursday. He has previously earned a pair of Scotland Under-17 caps and says he is grateful for the break from domestic football while the club resolves its managerial situation.

He said: “There is a lot of pressure at the club just now.

“The fans want a lot more than they’re getting and the players want a lot more from themselves as well.

“We don’t have a manager and we don’t know who’s coming in so we have to see how that’s going to go.

“To get away from it is a good opportunity for me to prove myself here on a good stage. Hopefully the new gaffer likes what he sees.”