Terry Butcher has had it tough at Easter Road

Big Tel suffers same problems as David Moyes

Terry Butcher has found it tough going at Hibs.

Now my former Ipswich Town team-mate has come in for increasing stick from Hibees supporters.

But it’s extremely unfair and ultra-critical to judge him on how the Easter Road club are performing at the moment.

I’m sure Terry would be the first to admit the results and performances haven’t been good enough since he took over. And they haven’t.

Prior to this weekend, they’d only won once in their last 11 games, and during that period were eliminated from the Scottish Cup at the hands of Championship side Raith Rovers.

Some of the League defeats have been particularly disappointing, such as the 3-1 loss away to Partick Thistle and a 3-2 defeat at home to a St Mirren side that has been fighting relegation all season.

So it isn’t hugely surprising the Hibs supporters are far from happy.

However, you need to look at the bigger picture.

The team Terry is sending out every weekend isn’t his team. He is still working with the group formed by the previous manager.

You’ll always hear some suggesting the current manager should still be able to get more out of them, but that isn’t always the case.

The perfect example is David Moyes and Manchester United.

Now it might seem quite bizarre comparing Hibs with the Old Trafford club, but Terry is in a similar position to Moyes.

They’ve both inherited squads that clearly need major surgery.

They are both trying, and failing just now, to get enough out of the players they currently have at their disposal.

I’ve continually stated Moyes needs to be given the summer to make things happen in the transfer window and stamp his own mark on United.

The same goes for Big Tel at Hibs.

One of the main reasons why he was such a success at Inverness Caley Thistle was his ability to find players from the lower leagues in England and turn them into stars in Scotland.

I’m sure he already has specific players identified as close-season signings, and there will be more than a few players being told they will be heading for the Easter Road exit door.

So there will be big changes, and the time to judge Terry will be from the start of next season.

I’m not making excuses for him because we are friends and go back a long way. I always try to give an honest opinion, no matter the individuals involved.

I was actually surprised when Terry accepted the Hibs job. I thought he would have held out for a return to English football.

Eventually I think he will head south of the border to ply his trade.

Before that he will have turned Hibs around.