Jack Ross has left his role as Hibernian head coach, according to reports.
The 45-year-old came under fire from supporters after a 1-0 loss at Livingston on Wednesday evening made it seven defeats in their last nine cinch Premiership matches.
The Easter Road side, who finished third under Ross last season, are currently seventh in the table ahead of their Premier Sports Cup final showdown with in-form Celtic at Hampden a week on Sunday.
Reports emerged on Thursday morning that Ross has paid the price for the slump in form. Hibs were unavailable for comment when contacted by the PA news agency.
Ross was appointed as Paul Heckingbottom’s successor in November 2019 and had an encouraging start, leading the team away from the relegation zone up to mid-table and to the Scottish Cup semi-final before the campaign was prematurely halted by Covid.
Last term, in what proved to be his only full season at the helm, he led Hibs to their first third-place finish in 16 years.
The shine from this achievement was diminished by a trio of high-profile Hampden defeats, however, as Hearts – in the Championship at the time – beat them in the Covid-delayed 2020 Scottish Cup semi-final last December, before St Johnstone defeated them in the Premier Sports Cup semi in January, and then the Perth side beat them again in the Scottish Cup final four months later.
Hibs started the current campaign well and, after a seven-game unbeaten run in the league, they were just a point off top spot at the start of October. However, amid injuries to key players like Kyle Magennis and Christian Doidge, their form has taken a nosedive over the past two months, leaving Ross under pressure.
The former St Mirren and Sunderland manager acknowledged supporters were fully justified in venting their anger towards him when he faced the media after a defeat at Livingston in which Hibs had experienced defenders Paul McGinn and Paul Hanlon sent off in the closing minutes.
He said of the criticism: “It’s part of the job. I have done this for nearly 300 games now. By and large I have pretty positive times as a manager. You know you will get criticised and that criticism grows when you are not producing positive results. We’re not doing that right now.
“There are times where I would be more defensive if I felt the performance was good because everyone judges it on the end result, but (on Wednesday night) all the criticism I receive will be justified because I am in charge of that team.
“And that level of performance was not good enough so the criticism should fall upon me.
“We were not good enough in all aspects of our play – energy, intensity, quality, discipline.
“That all falls on my shoulders. I own it. It’s my team and the team that was on the park for 60-70 minutes is nowhere near good enough to win games in the Premiership.”
Hibs travel to St Mirren on Saturday and then host Dundee next Tuesday prior to their Premier Sports Cup final the following weekend.
