Shaun Maloney sack timing is mental and Hibs board's thought process doesn't add up - Tam McManus

I've Hibs to thanks for shanking my drive on the first tee at Straven Golf Club into the woods.

My phone was red hot on Tuesday morning with the shock news that Shaun Maloney had been sacked.

The first three holes were a disaster, all over the place, call after call before switching to silent mode and eventually settling down to win 3 and 2.

It seems like only yesterday I was writing my Record Sport column and backing the manager to get it right if funds were released this summer.

The initial reaction is that the decision to remove Maloney is harsh, the timing especially doesn't add up.

Sixteen games isn't enough time to make a considered judgement on a young manager and if he was going to be axed why did the board not do it after the shocker at Tynecastle the previous week?

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There's a certain irony about this sacking on the back of a Scottish Cup defeat to the Jambos where the general consensus was the team had played very well.

That said, chairman Ron Gordon is the majority shareholder and he runs the club as he sees fit.

The supporters will be split over this, some of them wanted Maloney to be given time, they wanted to see what he could do in the next transfer window and have a summer where he