Hibs' Shaun Maloney sacking: the emergency board meeting, why club had to act, heads on the line, who they will go for next

The decision to remove Shaun Maloney as manager of Hibs caught many off-guard on Tuesday morning, even if it came amidst the backdrop of the club failing to reach the top six of the cinch Premiership and losing to its Edinburgh rivals Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

In the wake of the 2-1 defeat at Hampden – Hibs’ second loss to their neighbours in a week – Maloney spoke post-match of what he required to improve an ailing team’s fortunes. He wanted reinforcements, particularly in the final third of the pitch, and more experience. He also expected to be backed by the board, with funds to be released in the summer to improve the playing pool.

That will still happen, but Maloney will not be the manager spending the cash. Hibs announced at 10am that, after 120 days at the tiller, Maloney has been stood down. He and his backroom staff of Gary Caldwell, Valerio Zuddas and Brian Doogan follow him out the exit door, with David Gray and Eddie May once again placed in temporary charge of first-team affairs.

This is the second time this season that Hibs have been without a manager following the axing of Jack Ross in December. Back then, Hibs’ form had nose-dived in the league following a bright start. Ross’ team were on a bad run, with just one win in nine Premiership matches and had tumbled down the table. Not even reaching the Premier Sports Cup final after vanquishing Rangers 3-1 at Hampden was enough to save Ross. This Hibs regime, headed up by US-based owner Ron Gordon, showed its ruthless streak then – and has done so again.

Maloney’s tenure got off to a bright start with two league wins over Aberdeen and Dundee United, but since then, the figures make grim reading. He presided over 15 league matches in total and only