Alan Stubbs has warned Hibs they could turn into the Watford of the north if they axe Lee Johnson.
The Easter Road club brought the former Sunderland man into the capital club to replace Shaun Maloney after just four months in the top job for the ex-Celtic man. He only lasted 19 games following his arrival after Jack Ross was dismissed. Johnson is under contract until May 2026 but is on a poor run of six defeats in the last seven games before the World Cup shutdown.
That loss of form has Hibs down in eighth spot - falling from third behind the Hoops and Rangers in the Premiership table. They also had a nightmare Premier Sports Cup - now known as the Viaplay Cup - campaign with elimination at the group stages and defeats to lower league opposition. If Hibs decide to axe Johnson they would be on the lookout for a fifth manager in just a three year period.
READ MORE: Hearts and Hibs in fixture reshuffle as Jambos set for Friday night under the lights at Tynecastle
Sign up to Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Stubbs reckons that is enough to put any potential candidate off applying for the role in the future. Watford - playing in England's second tier - have had a whopping nine managers since 2019, and the former Hibees boss would hate to see his old club follow a similar path.
He told the Daily Record: “They’re on a difficult run of results but you have to look at the bigger picture.
“Lee has been without his two best strikers – Kevin Nisbet and Martin Boyle – and that has been a major factor in where they find themselves. You can argue that they’ve made 15 signings so they should be able to cope. Like most managers, Lee gets the blame for that but how many of those players did he identify?
“There’s more than one person who should be having a look at themselves here. This break might just have come at the perfect time for the club. By the time they get back to playing games again next month they should have most of their big hitters back.
“Fans’ websites may be running polls on who should replace Lee but what kind of message would that send out? They’d be like a Scottish Watford – they’ve had nine managers since 2019 and you don’t want to be like them because they’re the worst club in England when it comes to a lack of stability.”
He added: “There are times when sacking the manager is the right thing to do but you can’t go chopping and changing all the time because good candidates will think twice about applying for that vacancy. If they think that this is a club in turmoil and they’re likely to be binned after three or four months then why would they bother?"
READ NEXT:
- Lee Johnson accepts Hibs pressure as he admits 'five or six' players face Easter Road axe
- Hibs edged out by Kilmarnock as form woes deepen at Rugby Park - three things we learned
- Elias Melkersen seeks Hibs impact as he aims to bounce back from 'mentally tough' injury spell
- Stoke City 'ready' Ryan Porteous transfer with Hibs star wanted by host of clubs in England
