Are Hibs set up to follow Motherwell & Hearts coaching model?

Dismissing a manager is nothing new in Hibs’ relatively recent past. Not being able to replace them with Gray is, though.

The stints of Jack Ross, Shaun Maloney and Lee Johnson were all followed by Gray taking interim charge. And when Nick Montgomery’s tenure ended, Gray again stepped in but stayed for two years.

The Scottish Cup final hero steadied the most unstable of ships, steered them to back-to-back top five finishes and European football in consecutive campaigns.

That was never the issue, though. How they got there, their style of play – or lack thereof recently – was.

That is what makes this next appointment tricky. What is Hibs’ ambition?

Motherwell have made it look easy. First, they identified in Jens Berthel Askou, then replaced him – almost seamlessly – with Alfred Johansson after a season of success.

While Askou’s side pipped Hibs to fourth on the final day, most in green and white were more worried by what was going on at Celtic Park, where Hearts fell at the final hurdle in their title pursuit. Pure joy and pure relief in Leith.