The first thing that Hibs’ midfielder Owain Tudur Jones did when he learned that Terry Butcher was to be the new manager at Easter Road was to remove everything from the dressing room that wasn’t nailed down.
Butcher’s fiery temper is legendry and the Welsh internationalist has seen the results on many occasions, but not so far in the green and white of Hibs, although he is well aware that the honeymoon period won’t last forever.
Hibs remain unbeaten since Butcher’s arrival and the performances, although not pretty have been effective and no-one could criticise the effort shown by the players.
Speaking after the 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle on Saturday, Tudur Jones said: “The boys haven’t faced the manager angry yet; he is still in his settling-in period at the moment. I’ve had a little look around the dressing room and there are not too many things that can be thrown around. There are no water coolers like in Inverness . . . I got rid of all the stuff he could throw. It is in my house, actually . . .
“It is inevitable that he will have a go if performance levels drop. He’s that kind of manager.
Knowing the gaffer as I do, he will have a go when standards drop and he feels you are not putting your all in. Just now, he can see that everyone is working hard. There will come a point when he wants that extra quality as well.
The quality in our play is something separate that can be analysed differently. We hope that will improve and that is three [matches] under the manager without getting beaten.”
Hibs face Celtic next week at Parkhead.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
