The godfather of Scottish football managers, Alex Smith, is winning his battle to protect his peers in the wake of Willie McStay's short term Ross County reign. Smith, chairman of the Scottish Managers and Coaches Association, has held positive talks with the relevant governing bodies which threaten to change forever how clubs go about the business of hiring and firing managers.
Under new proposals, chairmen won't be allowed to sack managers unless they have served at least two-thirds of their contracts and they will also be banned from appointing a successor until compensation is agreed. The fresh move comes in the wake of the shock decision to axe McStay after just nine games and 14 weeks at the helm at Victoria Park.
At one stage, Colin Calderwood could have been forgiven for championing Smith's radical proposals, especially when it appeared he faced a battle to save his Hibs job. After all, Calderwood, who won 36 Scotland caps during his playing career, is a relevant case in point when it comes to supporting Smith's valid views.
The 46-year-old left his post as assistant manager at Newcastle to succeed John Hughes in October and is slowly starting to make his mark. Calderwood suffered a real SPL baptism of fire losing his first three matches in charge including an Edinburgh derby defeat to Hearts. Bizarrely, even for the Easter Road men, his first win came over Rangers at Ibrox when they recorded a 3-0 victory.
Despite the surprise victory, Calderwood initially struggled as he won just two of his first 14 matches while a Scottish Cup exit to lower league Ayr United did little to relieve the pressure. The result even prompted speculation that he had offered to resign, although that was denied by both the club and Calderwood.
A subsequent five-match winning run reinvigorated Hibs and enhanced their slim top-six hopes, earning Calderwood the SPL Manager of the Month award for February whilst also giving further weight to Smith's argument.
Whilst Calderwood is pleased to be recognised for his efforts, he always remained positive about getting it right at Hibs. "People might be surprised to hear this, but no one came into training at any point feeling sorry for themselves during our difficult run," Calderwood says. "They came in and were really professional about it. The players understood the position we were in but they didn't hide.
"In the end we have had a little bit of success for the extra graft we have put in during the weeks when we didn't win."
While Calderwood may have been thankful for Smith's actions, when the pressure was on he would only have openly admitted it within his inner sanctum, or to close contacts and friends. The former Tottenham Hotspur stopper has maintained a positive public stance and his self assurance is now being mirrored by his players on the pitch.
He added: "As manager it's vital to lead and I was sure we would come out of our difficult position because I have always been a good judge of a player and a team which helped me to remain positive. My certainty about turning things around never waned. I was always hopeful but you still have to produce on the park.
"We've thrown our new players into the mix and they've settled quite quickly which has been encouraging."
The men from Leith extended their unbeaten run to six matches when they drew 1-1 away to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park at the weekend. They have now got just four fixtures left before the much maligned top-six split reappears, and just one match in the rest of March.
That comes against Celtic at Parkhead before they play host to capital rivals Hearts early next month. However, Hibs midfielder David Wotherspoon insists a lack of match action won't halt their recent momentum.
The 21-year-old netted an equaliser to earn his side a precious point after Ritchie Towell's own goal had handed the Saints the lead at the weekend.
He said: "The St Johnstone draw away from home is a good result. The boys will stay positive and we'll enjoy the break that's ahead of us. We had a meeting a few weeks ago and talked about building a winning mentality and how to improve it. The boys have somehow managed to get that into their game and now we must carry that forward for the rest of the season."
Calderwood will no doubt continue his quiet Easter Road revolution in his own understated manner to further strengthen Smith's call for change.
