THERE was a funereal air at Easter Road yesterday, even before the sacking of Franck Sauzee had been announced. Heads bowed, eye contact avoided, speech used only when absolutely necessary, the staff were genuinely shocked and saddened by the untimely departure.

There had been a death in the family all right. The death of hope. Ushered into the hot-seat by popular acclamation just a couple of months ago, Sauzee was meant to bring about a new era of jollity and style and sophistication to Hibs, one of the few clubs in Scotland with a genuine tradition of prizing such values above brute force and bare-knuckled aggression.

But to have been successful in his appointed task, the 36-year-old Frenchman would have needed a bit more time than he was given.

He took over just months after the club had lost their best midfielder, Russell Latapy, and their top scorer, Mixu Paatelainen; in addition, as he hung up his boots to concentrate on management, he inherited a team which had also lost a key stabilising influence at the back.

It does not matter if you are Fabio Capello, Hector Cuper or any other coaching mastermind: you cannot overcome such problems in a matter of months, especially if you have minimal funds with which to make the attempt. And Franck, clearly, is no Capello or Cuper.

Sauzee was meant to bring about a new era of style and sophistication to Hibs

But the members of the Hibs board knew that when they appointed the Frenchman, just as they knew it would take time for him to make the transition from player to manager. At a meeting on Wednesday night, they resolved that he should no longer be given any time.

Sauzee has looked troubled in recent weeks, as anyone would under such pressure. He began by appearing baffled, by writing off unlucky breaks with his catchphrase, "That’s football".

Then, as the commitment of the players began to be called into question, he became angrier. After the 4-3 home defeat by Aberdeen last month, he even gave a fair imitation of the classically macho Scottish football manager, thumping the table and swearing to show he really meant it.

It was a worrying sign. If Hibs had wanted to employ a stereotype, surely there were dozens from which to choose. They had opted for Franck because of his wider knowledge of the game, and because they had ambitions of building on last season’s third-place finish and becoming regular qualifiers for Europe again. They didn’t need a cool Frenchman to act like a downmarket Scot.

That was the one good thing about yesterday: Franck was back to being himself again. Sure, he was sad - close to tears at times, in fact, as he prepared to leave the club he loves - but he also looked a lot less stressed.

He conducted himself with dignity, as ever. He made plain his disappointment, without indulging in self-pity or splenetic attacks. A brief statement having been delivered, he walked out of the club with his head held high. Malcolm McPherson and the rest of the club’s board at least deserve the credit for being open and honest about Sauzee’s dismissal. They could have tried to fudge it, could have tried to bribe Sauzee into making a joint statement about his departure being "by mutual consent".

The board did what is so hard for so many people - admitted that they had made a mistake

Indeed, given that they had gone out on a limb to insist that Sauzee was the best appointment, the members of the board must have been tempted to look for a face-saving formula. Instead, they did what is so hard for so many people - admitted that they had made a mistake.

Maybe some time in the future McPherson will admit that the timing of Sauzee’s sacking was also a mistake. He may not have to, as there is no way of knowing what would have happened had Sauzee stayed for the forthcoming battle against relegation.

But McPherson may concede that the decision to part company with the Frenchman, like the plea to him to return from convalescence in his home country to take up the reins at Easter Road, was hasty and badly timed.

In retrospect, the appointment of Sauzee can be seen as a romantic move, not a realistic one. But the board were by no means alone in believing it had the right man for the job.

The supporters were in almost unanimous agreement, and the wider reaction was also sympathetic. Sauzee certainly had the experience as a player, the tactical perceptiveness and the ability to cultivate good media relations.

He must have known before he took up the post that there are many players in Scotland who are not used to being asked to think about the game, but once he was manager that fact became all the more frustrating. With some players at Easter Road apparently unable to motivate themselves, being used to some old thug in a blazer barking at them, a gap became apparent between Sauzee’s character and the demands of the job.

Many of his admirers would acknowledge that. The results do speak for themselves, and even a poor team should be able to get the odd win every ten or so league games.

But - as everyone, including the board, accepts - the problems at Easter Road did not begin when Sauzee took over. He might not have been able to put everything right on his own, but he knew that, and is believed to have lined up a coach to join the club in the close season as part of an attempt to get the players thinking more on the field.

Sauzee needed the time to turn things round, and so will his successor. By sacking him now, without a replacement to hand, Hibs have implicitly stated that they would rather go into the crunch match against St Johnstone with no manager rather than with Sauzee.

They lost him as a player when he was prevailed upon to become manager. They have now lost him as a manager too.

They probably will avoid relegation, as they probably would have done had Sauzee stayed. But Easter Road will be a duller, more prosaic place from now on, and Scottish football as a whole will henceforth be even more devoid of charm and intelligence.

Taken from the Scotsman