MOGGA SAT US ALL DOWN, TOLD US HE WASN'T TAKING THE TEAM AGAIN AND THEN HE WAS GONE

HIBS captain Kevin Thomson last night revealed Tony Mowbray was in tears when he gathered his players round him for the last time yesterday.

Today Mowbray will walk into the Hawthorns to launch a new chapter in his career as manager of West Brom.

And Thomson insists that even though the Englishman failed to put silverware in the Easter Road trophy room, he made an indelible impression on the players and leaves behind a team that are much better than the one he inherited two and a half years ago.

The skipper revealed how Mowbray sat every member of Hibs' playing staff down inside the dressing room.

Thomson said: "It was very disappointing. Speaking on behalf of the boys, we had a lot of respect for the manager and we wish him all the best.

"He came in this morning and told us the situation. Every player registered at Easter Road was in the changing room.

"It gave you a wee lump in your throat and a lot of the boys were upset because although I know there has been a lot in the Press, we never expected it to happen before Sunday's derby clash with Hearts.

"But these things happen in football - people move on and new people come in and we just have to stick together and get on with it.

"He told us he was leaving the club and that he wasn't going to take the team again. He said his goodbyes and that was the end of it.

"It was a quick chat and he thanked the boys for their efforts and that was it.

"What makes it harder for the boys is that a lot of us can put our hands on our hearts and say the manager improved us as players.

"I worked under Bobby Williamson and I was here when Alex McLeish was manager but basically my reign in the team has been under Tony.

"What he has achieved and how he has helped progress the boys over the past couple of years has been night and day compared with the way we played as a team under Bobby.

"Everyone who knows Tony will speak highly of him. Hopefully the next person who comes in will be able to improve the team as Tony did.

"We have things to achieve here and these are the times we have to stick together and get back on the road to getting good results.

"There is no bad blood - 99.9 per cent of the changing room had a lot of respect for Tony and liked him as a man and I hope we get the right result for him on Sunday."

Assistant Mark Venus and youth team coach John Park will take the side for the clash with Hearts.

Both insist Mowbray leaves an enormous legacy in the capital.

Venus believes Hibs are in much better shape than when he and Mowbray took over at Easter Road in the summer of 2004. He said: "The next boss will have a good base to build on and some talented individuals on decent contracts.

"Tony tied down the likes of Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Guillaume Beuzelin on long-term contracts which can only be of benefit to the club.

"If those players want to run their contracts out then they have to play for Hibs for the next few seasons and if they do not then clubs have to pay big money to secure their services.

"I hope those players are ambitious too because no one should try to pour cold water on ambition - it is a healthy part of any business.

"These lads have played for the manager over the past two years and got him to where he is now and hopefully they have propelled their careers forward too. Hibs had two players in the international set-up this week and this club is moving on and getting better all the time."

Park seconded that and said: "Tony has left an indelible mark on this club.

"In terms of man-management skills, his organisation and his leadership, he is first class.

"He influenced how we look at the game, how we analyse teams and players and how we see ourselves. Tony has been fantastic for Hibs.

"Before he came here the only knowledge we had of him was from the English FA and Ipswich who told us about his coaching abilities. Now you can see what has happened here over the past two years.

"The football being played is exciting. Tony is a sad loss."

Venus hinted he would like to be a manager himself one day but admitted he isn't sure if he is ready to take that step yet.

He is widely expected to join Mowbray in the Midlands and believes that his time as a player with Wolves should not be a barrier to him taking up a coaching post at rivals West Brom if it was to be offered to him. He said: "Anyone who wants to be a success wants to be their own man at some time.

"The bottom line is that I work for Hibs and I enjoy my job here. I will do my damnedest to win matches, starting on Sunday against Hearts.

"I do not know if I am ready for management. If I said I was and didn't win games, people would say I was not ready.

"I would hope that if I was to be offered a coaching post at West Brom then my former Wolves links would not come into the reckoning.

"Just because you have played for a club, it should not prevent you from working for a rival.

"Kenny Miller is now playing for Celtic and he used to play for Rangers so I would like to think that in modern football barriers have gone and we have moved on."

Meanwhile, majority shareholder Sir Tom Farmer was applauded at Hibs' agm last night when he urged fans to back the board after the departure of Mowbray.

He said: "There will be changes but the world still carries on and whatever you do, make sure you give the board your backing.

"Their ambitions are exactly the same as the ambitions you and I have, which is to have a club which is a great club."

Chairman Rod Petrie said the accounts were "rock solid" after Hibs made a profit of £2.2million for the year ending July 31.

He admitted he expected Venus to follow Mowbray south but insisted he was not ready to see the team's young talents make the same journey without a fight.

He added: "We want to keep our best players, we want to put the best team on the pitch.

Taken from the Daily Record