Alan Stubbs Regrets Swift Hibernian Exit

Alan Stubbs, who guided Hibernian to a historic Scottish Cup triumph in 2016, has acknowledged that his departure from the club in the summer of 2016 was too hasty, stating he “jumped too quick”. The former Celtic defender’s exit occurred mere days after he had steered the Leith-based team to a landmark Scottish Cup victory against Rangers in an epic final. While Stubbs did not secure Hibs’ promotion back to the top flight, he remains fondly remembered by the club’s supporters for that significant day at Hampden. Reflecting on his tenure at Hibernian, the former Everton centre-back expressed regret over his choice to transfer to Rotherham less than two weeks following the cup success. He was subsequently dismissed by the English Championship club three months later, preceding another brief period at St Mirren in 2018. He has not held a managerial position since then. During an appearance on the BBC’s Sacked in the Morning podcast, Stubbs stated: “I’ll be the first to admit I made mistakes. I jumped too quick from Hibs. We would have won the [Scottish Championship] the following year. Our squad was far too strong. “I should have stayed. But I just thought the opportunity to go to the English Championship [was too good to turn down]. If I did well at Rotherham, then there’s another opportunity in there. Obviously my thinking was wrong.”I can honestly say it wasn’t a financial [decision] because Hibs had tried everything to offer me a new deal, an improved contract, so the difference wasn’t huge going to Rotherham.”I didn’t do my due diligence in terms of the job, everything about it, the squad, the budget was obviously the lowest in the division. And then the timing going in there was far too late. “The majority of the better free transfers had already gone, then you’re just recycling players that have already been given a ‘no’ from numbers of managers, and there’s a reason why they’ve been given a no. Ultimately, I just didn’t enjoy it there.”