Lee Johnson has admitted that his departure from Sunderland was hard to take and that he does have one regret - although he also stressed his delight at the club’s eventual promotion. The former Black Cats boss was sacked at the end of January after a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Bolton Wanderers, despite his side sitting third in League One at the time and just two points off then-leaders Rotherham.
Johnson won over half of his games in charge at the club - 41 from 76 - before his departure, doing more than his fair share of what ended up being a promotion season. He was replaced by Alex Neil who finished the job at the Stadium of Light, while Johnson moved north across the border to join Hibernian.
And despite the obvious joy that came with seeing former colleagues and friends win promotion, the 41-year-old admitted that the decision to sack him was tough to take and that he did harbour one ‘only regret’.
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"When you lose your job, two points off the top [of the table], it's hard to take. But of course, I've gone public and said that there's always things that go on behind the scenes and sometimes you're aligned, sometimes you're not.” Johnson told BBC Sport. "On that particular occasion, it was a bit of a crescendo of not being aligned and that's where it led.
"Of course, 90% of those players I'd signed or re-signed and had worked really hard to bring those guys in so naturally, you're absolutely delighted for them. The staff also at Sunderland, a lot of these guys have been there 15, 20 or even 25 years so you do build rapport. They've been trodden on for the last six or seven years and I'm just delighted for them. I hope they all get a really big raise.
"There were just so many successes in there. I suppose the only regret is not having the opportunity to see it over the line. Is that a learning? Not really, because I stuck to my values, I stuck to my principles, as you know I always will, and if that's different or it changes opinion from where the ownership is. I have to respect that because it's their football club."
Johnson, at Hibs since May, is enjoying life back in the chaos of football management and has a busy summer of recruitment and pre-season training ahead. He looks set to bring in former Sunderland winger Aiden McGeady after the 36-year-old was released in May - one of what will likely be several signings in a busy window.
"It's quite funny when you lose your job and nobody speaks to you for four months and then all of sudden, you get a job and you're absolutely bombarded with agents' calls.” He added. "But it's nice. If you like working, it's good to be in the mix, it does get hectic, it does get busy. But at the same time, that's the pressure and that is the privilege to be at such an iconic club, such a big club, particularly in Scotland. I'm really happy to be there.
"It's a beautiful city, Edinburgh. I'm a bit of a history geek, myself, so I like to study areas and the cities and the fans, and everything that goes with a particular football club. So I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about the capital."
