Jack Ross insists he's not bitter about his shock Hibs sacking - but he feels a sense of injustice after being disposed less than two weeks before a cup final.
Ross was axed by Easter Road chiefs in December after a seventh league defeat in nine games.
It was an ugly end to a two-year reign that was halted just 10 days before a Premier Sports Cup showdown with Celtic at Hampden.
And Ross, who was eventually replaced by Shaun Maloney after David Gray's caretaker spell, reckons the timing was "extremely harsh".
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Ross said: "I’m not bitter about it. That’s not the type of person I am.
"But the truth is I felt an injustice about it all and it definitely stung.
"The timing of it exacerbated things for me too. To be sacked before the cup final, I felt was extremely harsh.
"It’s not a particularly pleasant feeling to have, to be honest. Generally I’m not usually like that. I’m usually quite good at parking things.
"But it definitely took me some time to do that after losing my job with Hibs. It took me longer than I thought it would.
"I’ve only just emerged from the fog and thought to myself, ‘Right, it’s done, move on’."
Ross, meanwhile, offered counsel to Hibees forward Martin Boyle in the face of a life-changing offer from Saudi Arabia.
And he reckons Hibs must carefully consider letting him go to pursue the money being dangled by Al-Faisaly.
"I have spoken to Martin a few times in the last week," Ross added.
"He’s one of the Hibs players I’m close with and he’s asked me for my advice on his situation.
"He has an opportunity that simply doesn’t come around very often. The one he has in front of him is genuinely life-changing.
"This is a player who has had to graft the hard way throughout his career. He’s worked his way through the levels and had to deal with some serious injuries along the way.
"He would be deserving of a big money move. How things develop, I don’t know.
"But selfishly, as someone who knows him really well, I hope he gets the chance to grab that opportunity."
