BY ALAN TEMPLE – Capital City Press
Hibernian head coach Alan Stubbs last night re-affirmed his commitment to the Easter Road club after signing a new two-year deal with the Easter Road outfit.
The 43-year-old is now contracted to the capital club until the summer of 2017, while his trusted lieutenants Andy Holden and John Doolan, who he brought to the club last year, have also penned contract extensions.
Stubbs began Wednesday as 3/1 favourite to be the first Championship boss to leave his post, amid suggestions that the Scott Allan transfer saga which has dominated the headlines this week could ultimately become a resigning issue.
However, after agreeing to extend his stay in the capital he expressed his determination to drag Hibs back into the top flight at the second time of asking.
Stubbs said: “I am very happy to continue with the work in progress. I think supporters would agree that they have seen a lot of positive changes over the past year, and I know there is a lot more to come.
“I think most supporters would agree that whatever disappointments they have suffered in recent seasons are behind us, we are on the right track now, we’re trying to play a winning and exciting brand of football that they want to see and be part of.
“We made decent progress last year, this season we all know we need to get promoted. This is football, so there will be setbacks along the way. It’s how we react to those setbacks that will eventually determine how successful we are.”
Stubbs arrived at Easter Road last summer and was charged with picking up the pieces following Terry Butcher’s disastrous reign in the capital, which saw Hibs relegated from the top flight for the second time in 16 years.
While the improvement from the turgid fare on offer under Butcher was visible, Stubbs’ side were unable to lay a glove on runaway Championship winners Hearts and exited the Scottish Cup at the semi-final stage with a defeat against Falkirk.
Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster, who worked closely with director of football George Craig to hand-pick the former Everton youth coach, believes bigger and better things are to come this season.
Dempster told the Hibernian website: “This is a tremendous demonstration of our ambition at this club.
“We have a really talented management team, and their desire to stick with us shows that they understand we are determined to get this club back to the top.”
