Bobby Williamson

Having spent several months resisting his employers' attempts to renegotiate his £180,000 annual salary, Williamson now accepts that a pay cut will be required if he is to carry on with his five-year contract as Hibs boss.If that looks like a defeat for the former Kilmarnock manager, it is counterbalanced by the leaking of those negotiations, which has led to an upsurge of sympathy for him.

Sympathy does not pay the mortgage, but it has strengthened Williamson's hand for any future dealings with the Hibs board.Furthermore, the public airing of what are supposedly private contractual issues has led to the depiction of him as an honest artisan whose attempts to rebuild the Leith club are being hamstrung by bungling businessmen and haughtily dismissed by those otherworldly romantics among the Hibs support who hanker after a mythical golden age.

Williamson may have insisted that he was "bitterly disappointed" by the fact that his dealings with his employers had been made public, but in every sense other than the financial he is now in a stronger position than he was before the story broke on Saturday.He pressed home that advantage yesterday, restating his commitment to the task he began after the sacking of Franck Sauzee early in 2002.

"I want to be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that," he said.
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‘I want to see this job through, because it's an honour and a privilege to be here'- BOBBY WILLIAMSON

Williamson regularly brought European football to Kilmarnock, and won the Scottish Cup in 1997.
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The appointment of Williamson on that five-year deal was taken as a sign that the new manager was in the post for the long run, and as a recognition by the board that a period of sustained equilibrium was required.But if they were focussed on the need for stability then, they were less acutely aware of it back in August, when they began the round of cost-cutting which has now affected Williamson.

A 12 months' notice clause may appear to provide a safety net for employers agreeing to pay someone good money for five years, but in practice it is a clumsy weapon.

Having activated that clause in an attempt to drag Williamson to the negotiating table, the club ran the risk of completely demotivating a senior employee who had every right to hold on to his post right through this season and on to the start of the next.
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It is therefore all too plausible that, had Williamson chosen to play hardball and stay on full pay for as long as possible, serious and lasting damage would have been done to Hibs.

Agreement on the new, reduced salary is expected shortly - "hopefully [within] days," according to Williamson; "as quickly as possible," said a club spokesman.
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That includes Tam McManus, who yesterday added his backing to that of his striking partner Garry O'Connor in voicing his support of Williamson.
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For the meantime, though, instead of undergoing a costly divorce, Hibs and Williamson will muddle through in a less-than- blissful marriage.