Twenty-four years on from the day he slipped out of Easter Road with barely a word of goodbye, Kevin Harper is grateful to be back where it all began.
The manner of his sudden departure has long troubled the former Hibs legend, with the gnawing regret over the fact he did not get the chance to bid farewell to the fans who had supported him through six years of thick and thin.
So his return to Leith in a new scouting role is an opportunity to make amends to those he feels he let down back in 1998 when he rushed off to seal his £300,000 switch to Derby County.
It’s a second chance the 46-year-old wishes he’d only been afforded by a string of other clubs.
Since stepping down as manager of Albion Rovers two years ago - a job that twice saw him steer the perennial League Two strugglers away from relegation danger - Harper has posted off 15 applications for head coaching positions.
Only two clubs, though, have afforded him the courtesy of an interview.
Incredibly, it took 40 letters just to get him his shot at Cliftonhill, where he became the first black boss to be hired by a Scottish club for 15 years.
He’s the first to admit he maybe doesn’t have the right numbers for the right people in his phonebook to get him a foot in the door.
Or perhaps, as he suspects, there are more sinister forces at play preventing aspiring black and ethnic minority coaches from their big chance.
“When I took over at Rovers, I was the first BAME manager in Scotland since Marcio Maximo at Livi in 2003,” the former Portsmouth, Stoke and Dunfermline winger told Record Sport.
“Alex Dyer at Killie was the first in the top flight for 17 years.
“So these opportunities don’t come around often for people who look like me.
“We all have to start somewhere but do white managers get more of a second chance? I think the stats say yes.
“Looking at my own situation, I was successful in keeping a struggling club with the lowest budget in the league in the division.
“I wasn’t a failure at Rovers. I wasn’t sacked.
“When I went in there in November 2018, everyone apart from myself thought we were getting relegated.
“But to keep them up by eight points was a huge turnaround.
“The second season, we looked safe again when the season was called off because of the pandemic.
“At one point we had eight players injured, which a club like Rovers just can’t sustain.
“The board offered me a new contract but I just decided it wasn’t right for me.
“But do I deserve another opportunity? I think I do.
“I’d like to get back involved in management or coaching but maybe I’m not in the loop. Maybe I don’t have enough contacts these days.
“But I think what I did at Rovers and my experience in the game merits another go.
“I’ve certainly applied for enough jobs to deserve more interviews than I’m getting.
“Since leaving Rovers I’ve probably applied for 15 and had just two interviews. I’d applied for 40 before Albion Rovers.
“Yet when I look elsewhere I see other managers who get bulleted then getting another job. They’re sacked again but get another after that.
“I’d like to say there isn’t an issue with race in Scottish football anymore but when you look at the stats, it’s clear to see there is.”
This is a subject Harper has been vocal on before.
He raised his head above the parapet earlier this year when Scottish football was shamed by a spate of racist incidents.
The former Scotland Under-21 International also spoke out when Dyer bucked the trend to land his job at Rugby Park.
“We need to keep having the conversation but I also know people will get fed up hearing me bump my gums,” he said.
“But I’ll never stop bumping my gums because it’s a subject I care about.
“This isn’t a plea for me to get a job in football. For me, ultimately it’s about equal opportunity whether you’re black or white.
“But two interviews out of 15 applications doesn’t seem like equality to me.”
Harper is, however, grateful for the chance he’s been given by Hibs chief exec Ben Kensell after a chance meeting in the Easter Road hospitality lounges opened the door for his return to a club he turned out for 166 times after making his debut aged just 17.
He was brought in back in April to support Shaun Maloney’s summer rebuild but before he’d even got his feet under the table, the former Celtic ace was gone.
Now his job will be to help new boss Lee Johnson restock a squad that needs overhauling after trudging eighth last term.
“It’s been interesting,” he said. “Obviously Shaun left just when I started and I’ve not had a chance yet to meet the new manager about his plans.
“I’ve played against Lee before so know him in that respect. It’ll be good to sit down with him and get a feel for what he’s looking for in a recruitment sense as every manager is different that way.
“We’ll have a chat but if he decides he doesn’t like what I’m saying, he may decide, ‘I’m not going to trust him’.
“But I’ve played for the club and want to do well for Hibs.
“It’s good to be back. It feels like I’ve come home. Hibs has been a massive part of my career.
“I made my debut here as a 17-year-old and had six fantastic years.
“We had lows but also highs but looking back, the way that I left never felt right.
“I was there one day and away the next. We’d played Clydebank away on the Saturday, drew 2-2 after I came off the bench to score.
“But then the next day I got invited to go on trial at Derby and that was it.
“I never got the chance to say thank you to the fans for all their support they’d given me.
“So now with this new role, if I can help the club in any way I’d be delighted and hopefully it makes up for what happened back in 1998.”
