It's a funny old world isn't it? A few months ago you will remember (assuming of course that you have been paying attention) that I was whinging on about the lack of leadership and team spirit at Hibs and reminiscing about the good old days when Andy Watson had the team working hard in the pre-match warm up. Well, here we are in March and Andy is back at Easter Road. Lets hope he has brought his best arse kicking shoes with him.

The board really had us going when they announced that they would be sure to get the right man for the job after dumping Duff Jimmy. It's a pity that the best manager in Scotland, Jim Jefferies, is otherwise engaged but I suppose we can't have everything. What is needed is a manager with true leadership qualities, a man who will inspire loyalty and demand effort at every turn, a man who will strike fear into the hearts of shirkers, a man who will root out the under-achievers and banish them from this great club. Wait a minute, I think I have just nominated Saddam Hussein for the managers job.

Meanwhile, while Hibs do a credible Titanic impression and head for the metaphorical iceberg that is the First Division, what was our leader, good old Lex Gold, the Prince of Platitudes, up to? He was giving us a right showing up with all this break-away superleague guff. Hibs are languishing at the bottom of the league and playing absolute mince while he ponces around press conferences promoting a league that we will possibly not even be a part of.

So anyway, what about Alex McLeish then? I must say that I was not surprised at all when he was given the job. Why's that then? I hear you ask. Well I'll tell you. I was at the Hibs v Motherwell reserve game at Meadowbank in February and McLeish, Andy Watson, Billy McNeill and Douglas Cromb all had their heads together and were obviously plotting the Hibees' return to glory. As for the game itself, yes, you guessed it, even the reserve team are pish. I kept expecting an irate farmer to disrupt the game and demand to know why a football match was being played on his lovingly ploughed and prepared tattie field. The 'pitch' at Meadowbank is more suited to motorcycle scrambling than football and I refuse to accept that we cannot find a better venue to play our reserve games. Back to McLeish. The claim I am making is that I knew he was going to be the new manager before anyone else did so forgive me for having a smug look on my face while I write this column. I have to justify the obscene salary, limitless expense account and luxury car by having my finger on the pulse occasionally you know.

Will Alex be a success at Hibs? Only time will tell. His first chance to see what he has let himself in for was against Rangers and he had the team fired up for the game. Alex has said that Hibs face playing in twelve 'cup finals' before the end of the season. The will to win that was demonstrated against the Huns was a joy to watch and it is this kind of fighting spirit that will, hopefully, keep us in the Premier League where we belong.

Leither column, March 98

Tommy