Petrie's cuts convinced Mixu to go

THERE COMES a time when a change of direction is best for both parties, said the official statement.

For weeks the then Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen and his chairman Rod Petrie had been on a collision course and having come together on Friday, it became clear there was no likelihood of the board performing a volte face and revising budgets, the relationship was derailed. Paatelainen had little choice, the only option was for the parties to go their separate ways.

Hibs did not fight and scrap to keep the Finn, the one-time playing hero who had failed to win over a sizeable percentage of the support as manager, but like John Collins before him, only a budget to match expectations could have barred the exit door anyway.

According to sources within the club the well-documented frugality was again the major issue. "Mixu had always said he would never quit but there were so many obstacles put in his way," explained the insider. "People can argue that Rod has got it right but until the other clubs fall into line, it's not a fair or level playing field and regardless who is Hibs manager, they will find it tough to balance the budget with the high expectations the fans of this club have."

Hibs remain one of the big names in Scottish football and the fans considered a top six finish the least they should expect and turned on Paatelainen as he struggled to deliver. Hibs eventually did make the top six despite the fact the manager was operating with a budget only marginally superior to those clubs fighting relegation. Next season it is to be cut even further and the likes of Rob Jones and Steven Fletcher are to be allowed to move on. Bad enough but even worse is the fact that Paatelainen was informed that the money from the sales would not be used to bolster his kitty any further.

Prior to the Finn taking control, the player budget was in the region of £2.6m, this year it had been slashed by £1m and next season there will be a further tightening of the purse-strings, taking the tally to nearer £1.2m. It is the same sums Falkirk were dealing in during the most recent campaign, despite them drawing in a fraction of Hibs' home support. But with just 19 wins from his 62 games at the helm, the disparity between fans' desires and the final league placings and on-field performances means that season ticket sales are down on last year. Having steadfastly backed his man throughout the turmoil, meeting with him almost daily, it was those projections which ultimately troubled Petrie and provoked the split.

A man who stringently enforces a policy of the lowest wages to turnover ratio within the SPL, he was not willing to pay out without the concrete promise of the money coming back in through the turnstiles, thanks to corporate hospitality, sponsorship or merchandise.

It left Paatelainen nowhere to go other than out. A squad bereft of the kind of quality which took them to cup finals and allowed them to challenge higher up the league table in the recent past, there has been no like-for-like replacements for high-calibre players such as Guillaume Beuzelin, David Murphy, Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown and Steven Whittaker. On a budget of £1.2m Paatelainen knew that task would prove almost impossible, especially if he would soon also have to plug gaps left by Jones and Fletcher.

"People's perceptions would not change. I think Mixu knew that," said one club source. "It was a tough enough task getting the team into the top six this season, but with the squad weakened even more it would have been even harder. I felt sorry for him in a way because people's perceptions are so far away from the reality. I think even he realised that the obstacles were just too great and I think he will probably be quite relieved now that he is out of it."

While some supporters are delighted, the players don't share that glee according to Ian Murray, who says the way the side finished the season, taking points from Hearts, Rangers and Celtic, underlines the fact it was not all doom and gloom.

"I'm really surprised, I thought these were just the same rumours we heard last year because there was no hint of it, none at all," said the defender. "It was business as usual before and after the game (against Aberdeen] on Sunday. He told us to go away and enjoy the break and that he would see us when we got back. Maybe he just felt it was time to move on. It has been a hard season for us, some really poor results but some really good ones as well and we finished the season well with the games against Hearts, Rangers and Celtic. I'm glad for the gaffer that we got those results. The first target we set was to get into the top six and we managed that, the next was to push on for a European place but there weren't enough to go around and ourselves and Dundee United missed out. But look at the managers who have gone, they are all in the top six and that shows the pressure there is up there and the level of expectation.

"Most of the players will be disappointed even the ones who weren't playing regularly and that's unusual. I have been there myself and it's easy to take a dislike to someone who won't play you but Mixu was a good guy and honest. He is a good coach and manager. I think it would be pretty hard not to like him or get on with him. Maybe it was different for me because he signed me so I knew I was wanted but I think most of the guys liked him and respected him. I also knew him from playing with him and he always gave 100% and he was just the same as a manager."

But now it's a question of where now for the Leith side. Possible replacements have been touted in the shape of Neil Lennon, Mark Venus, Jimmy Calderwood and Mark McGhee but Murray endorses John Hughes.

"Yogi is a great guy and has done a great job. I think he would be popular with the fans and a lot of them wanted him the last time. He knows what is expected at Hibs and would do well. He has done a great job with Falkirk on a tight budget, bringing them up, keeping them up for the last couple of seasons and also getting to a Scottish cup final but maybe Hibs wouldn't get him. As I say he has done a great job and maybe he could head down south."

Hughes has also been linked with the vacant Aberdeen job but has never hidden his ambition nor devotion to his hometown team.

Two potential problems stand in the way of Hughes returning to the club he captained; he and Petrie are not thought to enjoy a particularly warm relationship and if Hughes does decided to leave Falkirk then Hibs will probably have to fend off competition from elsewhere.

Hughes is also highly-regarded by his peers who admire his organisation and passion. But Hibs insiders know that regardless who is named, there is the chance it could be another ticking time bomb, with budgetary woes throwing up the possibility of another implosion a year or two down the line.

"It's not going to be easy to find someone who has the ambition that satisfies the fans but who will accept things the way they are," said one source. "Plenty will want the job and think they can deal with it but that's the last two managers who have walked away because of the financial situation. It is well-documented that John Collins was frustrated and it's the same with Mixu. Other managers are eventually going to feel the same way. Rod is very supportive of his managers in lots of ways but he won't budge when it comes to the budgets. It's like banging their heads against a brick wall. After all it's the men in the dug-out the fans eventually turn on."

A parting of the ways has been in the offing for a while. Whether it is in the best interests of both parties, though, only time will tell.