Hibs mess is hilarious to Hearts fans but I fear smug smiles could disappear with Lawrence Shankland - Ryan Stevenson

If you’re a Hearts fan, it’s hard not to peer across Edinburgh and end up with you sides splitting when you look at the state Hibs have got themselves into.

But the lamentable situation in Leith really should be no laughing matter if you’re really serious about Scottish football moving forward. Freak results like losing to Kelty Hearts can happen at this time of year. David Gray isn’t the first boss to come a cropper in the League Cup groups and the new Easter Road manager won’t be the last.

But what you can’t excuse is Bill Foley throwing the rookie gaffer and his sporting director Malky Mackay right under the bus by announcing to the world that the Hibs hierarchy overruled his advice when they appointed the pair. It has undermined both men and will only heap unnecessary pressure on Gray, especially at a time when he’s trying to get to grips with his first job in management.

Of course Bournemouth owner Foley should have been involved in the decision making process having sunk £6million into the club. But there was simply no need to wash his club’s dirty laundry like that. All it’s done is play into the narrative that Hibs are a club lurching towards another crisis.

Of course I get that the Jambos faithful will want to milk this for all it’s worth. That’s your right as a fan. But my worry is that Hibs are going to end stuck in the same old cycle of hire and fire when it comes to managers.

The Gorgie support might enjoy that for a while but let me ask them this: doesn’t a derby win mean more when the games are close, when you have to scrap every second for the points rather than a one-sided stroll?

For me, Scottish football needs all it’s big clubs to be pulling their weight if we’re to be successful as a nation – that