Ex-Hibs star Kevin Thomson explains why he's thankful for 'hated' Easter Road managers

The former Easter Road star was recently announced as the cinch League Two manager of the month for keeping Kelty Hearts at the top of the table with a strong lead over nearest challengers Forfar Athletic.

Speaking to Open Goal after the announcement of the award, Thomson was questioned about which managers during his career did he not enjoy playing for. He picked out Collins and Butcher from two of his three separate spells at Hibs.

Thomson clashed with Collins prior to his move to Rangers in the 2007 January transfer window. He was later banished to the stands by Terry Butcher after returning to Leith in 2013.

“I never enjoyed Terry Butcher. I hated him, to be honest. He treated me not very well. I never liked John Collins; didn’t think he treated me very well,” he explained to Si Ferry and Paul Slane.

“One thing I would say about the bad managers I had was that I’m really glad, as a manager, that I had them. So even though I wouldn’t do anything of what Terry does, or John does, or treat people the way they treated people, I’m happy I went through it as an individual because I would never treat people the way they treated me. That’s what I believe in.

“By the way, John Collins was one of my heroes growing up. Great left peg, left-sided midfielder. I’ve massive respect for him. Terry, a brilliant career.

“But when it came to togetherness and the way they wanted to play football – the way they coached, the way they managed players – not for me.

“I’ve been on air before and I’ve apologised for some of the things I’ve said before. You know, you’re young, you’ve never been through that before and you speak out of turn.

“The thing that frustrated me with John is that I think he thought I was the brains behind the entire operation. Yet I’d gone to Rangers before 24 players met with Rod Petrie to revolt against him. So I wasn’t his problem.”

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