Jack Ross - two years on

[Springbank]

Jack's predecessor, Paul Heckingbottom, got his marching orders two years ago after a league cup semi, which was 5-2 going on ten.

So there was a symmetry with a league cup semi this week, a chance to ask "have we made progress"? I don't mind admitting I had wondered this week if we would have a nightmare repeat of Heck'y last game, having been off-form, not played for a month, and Rangers having a lot more resources at their disposal (let's be honest) and a new manager watching on.

Well, I got my answer.

That was like night and day - in 2019 we were set up to show the world our glass chin, from Tom James at fullback to a keeper struggling for confidence, and a tackle-free midfield of Mallan, Josh Vela and Allan. In 2021, we worked for every ball, took chances, and deserved a historic win.

That's not just progress, it's a damn fine piece of work from Jack Ross, his backroom team, and all involved. Well done Hibs, now lets go & and win it!

[Northernhibee]

Recruitment is largely very good and we seem to have gotten a few genuine bargains recently. We could do with more depth but I’m sure that will be resolved soon.

Cup competitions we are consistently at Hampden. That’s constantly giving us opportunities to get silverware. We do need to take one of those chances very soon though.

Last years league campaign was excellent.

The football can be a bit uninspiring to watch and when we’re bad, we’re Butcher-esque. We can also be a joy to watch at times too. Mostly we’re quite pragmatic though.

Doig and Campbell coming through has been great to see and we’ve seen a few players get call ups and caps at international level too.

[CapitalGreen]

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Jack's predecessor, Paul Heckingbottom, got his marching orders two years ago after a league cup semi, which was 5-2 going on ten.

So there was a symmetry with a league cup semi this week, a chance to ask "have we made progress"? I don't mind admitting I had wondered this week if we would have a nightmare repeat of Heck'y last game, having been off-form, not played for a month, and Rangers having a lot more resources at their disposal (let's be honest) and a new manager watching on.

Well, I got my answer.

That was like night and day - in 2019 we were set up to show the world our glass chin, from Tom James at fullback to a keeper struggling for confidence, and a tackle-free midfield of Mallan, Josh Vela and Allan. In 2021, we worked for every ball, took chances, and deserved a historic win.

That's not just progress, it's a damn fine piece of work from Jack Ross, his backroom team, and all involved. Well done Hibs, now lets go & and win it!

I’d also add that it’s not like he’s brought in a full new team either. Doidge started that day but he was well out of form, he was replaced with 15 minutes to go by Boyle and Newell didn’t even get off the bench. All three players have come on leaps and bounds under his management to cement themselves as key players in the first XI and have been rewarded with contract extensions.

[Jim44]

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Jack's predecessor, Paul Heckingbottom, got his marching orders two years ago after a league cup semi, which was 5-2 going on ten.

So there was a symmetry with a league cup semi this week, a chance to ask "have we made progress"? I don't mind admitting I had wondered this week if we would have a nightmare repeat of Heck'y last game, having been off-form, not played for a month, and Rangers having a lot more resources at their disposal (let's be honest) and a new manager watching on.

Well, I got my answer.

That was like night and day - in 2019 we were set up to show the world our glass chin, from Tom James at fullback to a keeper struggling for confidence, and a tackle-free midfield of Mallan, Josh Vela and Allan. In 2021, we worked for every ball, took chances, and deserved a historic win.

That's not just progress, it's a damn fine piece of work from Jack Ross, his backroom team, and all involved. Well done Hibs, now lets go & and win it!

Two of them now gone and the other, unlikely to be with us in the second half of the season.

[greenlex]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We are in good hands.

[Keith_M]

I'm reserving judgement until 5pm on December 19th.

[Jim44]

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I'm reserving judgement until 5pm on December 19th.

Well, if Celtic do what’s expected of them, but we give them a good game, I hope the Ross dissidents don’t start off again, especially if we get our league performances back on an even keel.

[90274]

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Well, if Celtic do what’s expected of them, but we give them a good game, I hope the Ross dissidents don’t start off again, especially if we get our league performances back on an even keel.

To be fair, I don't think that happens until he lifts a trophy. As harsh as that is. Yesterday was progress though.

[Unseen work]

I posted this yesterday and considering he’s only been in 2 years it’s amazing;

46 wins in 91 games = 50.5% win rate
First 3rd place finish in 16 years
2 cup finals
2 semi finals

[CapitalGreen]

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I posted this yesterday and considering he’s only been in 2 years it’s amazing;

46 wins in 91 games = 50.5% win rate
First 3rd place finish in 16 years
2 cup finals
2 semi finals

Lowest number of league goals conceded and our third highest points total in 2 decades.

[Since452]

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I posted this yesterday and considering he’s only been in 2 years it’s amazing;

46 wins in 91 games = 50.5% win rate
First 3rd place finish in 16 years
2 cup finals
2 semi finals

Aye but apart from that he doesn't win the big games apart from the big games that he wins. Ross out.

[B.H.F.C]

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I posted this yesterday and considering he’s only been in 2 years it’s amazing;

46 wins in 91 games = 50.5% win rate
First 3rd place finish in 16 years
2 cup finals
2 semi finals

Don’t think anyone has ever really disputed the achievements when you look at them on them on paper to be fair.

Yesterday was the first really, really big victory in his time that anyone who was there will remember for a long, long time. I really, really hope we can repeat it in the final.

[Since452]

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Don’t think anyone has ever really disputed the achievements when you look at them on them on paper to be fair.

Yesterday was the first really, really big victory in his time that anyone who was there will remember for a long, long time. I really, really hope we can repeat it in the final.

He's now done something Lennon, Mowbray, McLeish and countless other managers haven't. Beaten one of the Old Firm at Hampden. And in less time than they had.

[jacomo]

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Aye but apart from that he doesn't win the big games apart from the big games that he wins. Ross out.

Yesterday was great. You’re in danger of souring it though.

Really don’t see the need to continually have a pop at other fans. It was telling that even Jack’s biggest fans were pretty quiet last month, because some of the performances were so insipid.

Onwards!

[B.H.F.C]

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He's now done something Lennon, Mowbray, McLeish and countless other managers haven't. Beaten one of the Old Firm at Hampden. And in less time than they had.

And been praised accordingly. Despite all your sarcastic pish about ‘not winning big games apart from the big games he wins’ and stuff like that.

He and the players now have a chance to become legends and, if they do, I’m pretty sure nobody that has previously been critical of him will be worrying about that.

[90274]

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Aye but apart from that he doesn't win the big games apart from the big games that he wins. Ross out.

Both sides should just enjoy yesterday's win and enjoy looking forward to another Cup Final.

[Jim44]

It’s a tough school for a well above average Hibs manager these days. I can’t help feeling that if we don’t win either of the cups, JR will be hounded out of the door by quite a few here and by the harder noses on Facebook and Twitter. Fortunately, despite JR’s apparent unpopularity with a minority, I think Ron Graham and the board hold him in higher regard. I think we should be careful what we wish for. Ask the Sheep supporters about that.

[Since452]

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And been praised accordingly. Despite all your sarcastic pish about ‘not winning big games apart from the big games he wins’ and stuff like that.

He and the players now have a chance to become legends and, if they do, I’m pretty sure nobody that has previously been critical of him will be worrying about that.

Settle yourself. I've had to put up with plenty "pish" on here with folk wanting our manager emptied so I'll post what I like cheers.

[B.H.F.C]

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Settle yourself. I've had to put up with plenty "pish" on here with folk wanting our manager emptied so I'll post what I like cheers.

You’re just trolling though. Even if folk did/do want JR emptied they have their reasons (as has been discussed plenty).

[B.H.F.C]

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It’s a tough school for a well above average Hibs manager these days. I can’t help feeling that if we don’t win either of the cups, JR will be hounded out of the door by quite a few here and by the harder noses on Facebook and Twitter. Fortunately, despite JR’s apparent unpopularity with a minority, I think Ron Graham and the board hold him in higher regard. I think we should be careful what we wish for. Ask the Sheep supporters about that.

I don’t think he’d be hounded out just for that. If our league position doesn’t improve and we don’t turn up in the final he might be. But I think the reaction to yesterday shows how much everybody just really, really wants to see us win.

[jacomo]

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It’s a tough school for a well above average Hibs manager these days. I can’t help feeling that if we don’t win either of the cups, JR will be hounded out of the door by quite a few here and by the harder noses on Facebook and Twitter. Fortunately, despite JR’s apparent unpopularity with a minority, I think Ron Graham and the board hold him in higher regard. I think we should be careful what we wish for. Ask the Sheep supporters about that.

McInnes left Aberdeen after 7 or 8 years and one cup ages ago. His time had run its course.

We’re in a very different place. Hopefully the best is yet to come.

[matty_f]

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I posted this yesterday and considering he’s only been in 2 years it’s amazing;

46 wins in 91 games = 50.5% win rate
First 3rd place finish in 16 years
2 cup finals
2 semi finals

His record is fantastic, it really is. For all that record though, he is, unquestionably, missing a cup win and there should be an acknowledgement of how poor we were in a few of these crucial games.

His cup record outside of actually lifting one is superb, though. He's never gone out before a semi-final and has not gone to back to back finals - Stubbs did this in 2016, but I couldn't tell you who did it before him. Fenlon made successive Scottish Cup finals but not the Scottish and League Cups.

Yesterday was his biggest high so far, I think that is one of the issues that people have with Jack Ross's Hibs teams - we've had more properly awful games than we have had spectacular ones. The highs like yesterday have been too sporadic. We've hit 'good' often enough, but not 'brilliant', and I think that's where a lot of the criticism comes from.

Football is an emotive game, people want the extreme highs like yesterday gives you. I know I'll be buzzing all week, almost irrespective of how we do against Ross County on Wednesday night, because it was so good to win the way we did yesterday.

I do think that Jack Ross is a very capable manager, a very good manager, in fact. He's not flawless and his strength in getting consistently good results most of the time probably, ironically, goes against him because it makes the poor performances stand out more, gets him into the positions to win (or lose) big games like yesterday, and raises expectations for those big games so we feel we should be doing better in them when they come around.

He's clearly well thought of at Hibs, and justifiably so. The club would do well to hang on to him and continue to let him build.

[The 90+2]

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I'm reserving judgement until 5pm on December 19th.

December 19th is a good date in the memory.

We are lucky to have Jack Ross and there’s no better alternatives out there.

[BILLYHIBS]

Needs to do that all again on the 19th

Onwards and upwards

GGTTH

[Shrekko]

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Needs to do that all again on the 19th

Onwards and upwards

GGTTH

‘Needs to’? Or else what?

His record in Hibs terms is absolutely outstanding. There have been a handful of disappointments- big ones … but does that make him a bad manager? Maybe sometimes the players didn’t perform the way he set them up to?

The ones calling for his head every time we hit a rough patch really need to be careful what they’re wishing for. Yeah there’s the occasional merit in some points made but really … who can we possibly hope to attract that has the magic wand?

20 years ago if you told me a manager who’d never failed to reach a semi final in the first 4 Cups he managed us for and took as from 9th to 3rd in the space of a year would have a noticeable amount of fans who want him out then I’d have been dumbstruck. Where do these lofty expectations come from? We’ve won 3 cups in almost 50 years….

[rossi]

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‘Needs to’? Or else what?

His record in Hibs terms is absolutely outstanding. There have been a handful of disappointments- big ones … but does that make him a bad manager? Maybe sometimes the players didn’t perform the way he set them up to?

The ones calling for his head every time we hit a rough patch really need to be careful what they’re wishing for. Yeah there’s the occasional merit in some points made but really … who can we possibly hope to attract that has the magic wand?

20 years ago if you told me a manager who’d never failed to reach a semi final in the first 4 Cups he managed us for and took as from 9th to 3rd in the space of a year would have a noticeable amount of fans who want him out then I’d have been dumbstruck. Where do these lofty expectations come from? We’ve won 3 cups in almost 50 years….

Well said! Hibs managers should be sacked now if they don't win a trophy in their first 2/3 years....hmmm!

[007]

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‘Needs to’? Or else what?

His record in Hibs terms is absolutely outstanding. There have been a handful of disappointments- big ones … but does that make him a bad manager? Maybe sometimes the players didn’t perform the way he set them up to?

The ones calling for his head every time we hit a rough patch really need to be careful what they’re wishing for. Yeah there’s the occasional merit in some points made but really … who can we possibly hope to attract that has the magic wand?

20 years ago if you told me a manager who’d never failed to reach a semi final in the first 4 Cups he managed us for and took as from 9th to 3rd in the space of a year would have a noticeable amount of fans who want him out then I’d have been dumbstruck. Where do these lofty expectations come from? We’ve won 3 cups in almost 50 years….

We've just had a brilliant win against Rangers and yet it seems like some have already got the knives half drawn in readiness should we lose the final.

[JimBHibees]

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‘Needs to’? Or else what?

His record in Hibs terms is absolutely outstanding. There have been a handful of disappointments- big ones … but does that make him a bad manager? Maybe sometimes the players didn’t perform the way he set them up to?

The ones calling for his head every time we hit a rough patch really need to be careful what they’re wishing for. Yeah there’s the occasional merit in some points made but really … who can we possibly hope to attract that has the magic wand?

20 years ago if you told me a manager who’d never failed to reach a semi final in the first 4 Cups he managed us for and took as from 9th to 3rd in the space of a year would have a noticeable amount of fans who want him out then I’d have been dumbstruck. Where do these lofty expectations come from? We’ve won 3 cups in almost 50 years….

Totally agree especially the last paragraph. Our history tells us how rare cup wins are they should imo not be seen as a failure not to win one if all other areas of the team are improving. Totally unfair bar.

[JimBHibees]

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To be fair, I don't think that happens until he lifts a trophy. As harsh as that is. Yesterday was progress though.

It is too harsh I agree.

[Crunchie]

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We are in good hands.

I've a feeling most will only come to realise it when he's gone.