Stubbs wants Hibs to be '˜leaders, not chasers' in league

Alan Stubbs is already targeting next seasons Ladbrokes Championship title

The Easter Road club have missed a return to the Premiership through the play-offs in each of the last two seasons, but now the head coach is insisting Hibs have to be the “leaders, not chasers” next time round.

“The title has to be the target,” he said. “I think when you look at the last two seasons, they have been the hardest Championships to get out of, no-one can deny that. We found ourselves in a three-way battle a year ago and the season just ended was similar in terms of Falkirk joining the mix.

“Dundee United will be there. Ray McKinnon has a great job, but a huge job at Tannadice. I think he’ll probably be encountering what I came into when I first arrived at Easter Road. It doesn’t happen overnight.

“I think Falkirk will be strong. Last season, they missed out on the play-offs but this time round they had an excellent campaign and next season it will be about them sustaining that and I don’t see any reason why they would not,

“But I think since I came to Hibs we have been making progress. Sometimes it doesn’t show in terms of results on occasion but we have certainly tried to strike the correct balance. But I think we have been showing progress both behind the scenes and on the pitch.

“The most important thing people look for in terms of progress is silverware or other success. We hit the crossbar in our first season in terms of the Scottish Cup. This season we wanted to improve and think overall we have certainly done that.

“I think we excelled this season. We reached two cup finals, won the Scottish Cup and were there or thereabouts in the league.

“Next season, I want us to be the frontrunners all the way rather than chasers.”