Shaun Maloney breaks Hibs sacking silence as he claims turnaround was coming

Maloney was sacked after defeat to Hearts at the weekend and he says he was still confident of turning things around.

Shaun Maloney says he is bitterly disappointed to have been sacked by Hibs - insisting he could have turned things around given time.

The former Scotland star was relieved of his duties following their Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts at Hampden.

It was a tight game but Joe Newell's second-half red card left them with too much to do as they chased a comeback at the national stadium.

That came after Maloney failed to lead them into the top six and the board decided a second change of manager this season was necessary to stave off a potential relegation battle.

Maloney though feels he could have turned things around and says he's "disappointed" he won't get the chance to take the club forward.

He said in a statement: "It's been an honour and a privilege to be the manager of Hibernian, a club with such a proud and distinguished history.

"I'm disappointed not to have had the time to move the club forward to a position where we could consistently challenge the top teams in the country for domestic honours and European football.

"It was my deepest desire to be able to deliver for the fans a team of which they could feel proud and inspired by.

"Even though our defeat at the weekend remains raw, I was convinced all the more by the nature of our performance and the desire we showed, even reduced to ten men, that given time, we would have achieved this.

"From day one the players have been a real pleasure to work with and I'm grateful for their enthusiasm and commitment to my coaching ideas.

"To the fans, I can only say that I wish I'd been able to make you happier more often. I wish you and the team every success in the future."