A Manager’s Dream: Alan Stubbs On Lewis Stevenson

HQ magazine exclusively caught up with Alan Stubbs to discuss Lewis Stevenson’s glorious Hibernian FC career.

Alan Stubbs took over the Hibees at the start of the 2014/15 campaign, tasked with the challenge of gaining the Club promotion back to the Scottish top-flight.

Having been relegated the previous season, Stubbs oversaw a rebuild of the playing squad and recalls his first impressions of working with a 26-year-old Lewis Stevenson at the time.

“When I first came into Hibs we only had a handful of players at the time and straight away, my first impression of Lewis was that he was quite a quiet type of guy.

“With me going into Hibs and not knowing a lot of the players, I needed to get to know the players and work out what I had at my disposal. It quickly became apparent that Lewy was someone I wanted to keep.

“He came across as very committed, very professional, and he wanted to do the best he possibly could – that was Lewy all the way through.”

Stubbs quickly sussed out that Stevenson was to form part of his plan to rebuild the Club – highlighting his first-class attitude, application and professionalism.

“He is literally a manager’s dream – in terms of both his personality, but also his qualities as a player.

“He is a player that you know will never let you down and that is a very difficult commodity to find in a player. Sometimes you have players that bring a big personality to the team, or they bring their own ability, but with Lewy – he ticked every box.

“He was an example to others in terms of the way he trained. He gave his best everyday no matter what.”

A lot of managers would tell you there is not a lot of players that fall into that bracket. Stubbs was the eighth permanent Manager that Stevenson worked under at Hibs. This was a key indicator as to the type of character Stubbs knew he was going to get with Lewy. He explains:

“When you are a player, and you have played under so many managers – which Lewy has done you know they all can’t be wrong about their opinion of someone.

“Lewis has had a fair few managers in his time, and they have all picked him. That is a real pat on the back for Lewy as a player, but also as a person.”

Another key characteristic Stubbs noticed in Stevenson, was the way he interacted with his teammates and his resilience as a footballer.

“Over a period of time, when you have a dressing room that respects an individual so much – that tells you an awful lot.

“From my point of view, Lewis doesn’t speak all the time – but when he does speak, the players listen. He’s not one to have an opinion every game but when he does speak all the players respect what has to say.

“He is a very quiet individual, but in a good way. He has always wanted the best for Hibernian Football Club and he has never wanted to leave. There is a lot to say and admire about a player that has been at one club his whole life.

“Sometimes there can be more pressure on players who have played at the same club their whole life. It works both ways, people want to local lads in the team, but you also become an easy target for criticism.

“Lewy sometimes fell into that bracket on occasion, but in terms of his personality and mentality – he has never wavered, never wanted to leave or shy away from it.”

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