Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels would love to see Billy Brown named as manager of Hibs in his won right. The pair will be in opposite dug outs when Killie head to Easter Road tomorrow and both have plenty of experience of being the number two. Sheils was appointed Killie manager after Mixu Paatelainen left for his homeland so knows what a step up within a club means. Brown, who was assistant to Colin Calderwood before he was sacked earlier this month, has been in temporary charge of team affairs has been interviewed for the vacancy in the manager's office. He was previously the long-time right-hand man of Jim Jefferies at Falkirk, Hearts, Bradford and Kilmarnock and Shiels believes Brown now deserves a shot at a top job himself.
He said: "I would love to see it. He has been in football for a long time and he deserves it in his own right. He has worked hard and I'm sure his players will work hard for him. It can only help him to improve the players - they will see that desire and it will rub off on them. He will be professional and do the job to the best of his ability. Billy will know it's about getting them to believe in him and making sure they know he has a chance of being their boss for the future as well. He has to try to convince them of that."
The Northern Irishman says there are big differences between his and Brown's position and believes his Hibs counterpart is better placed to impress in the temporary role than he was himself. Shiels said: "If I equate it to my own position at the end of last season, that was different. Half my team were injured and the other half had made commitments to other clubs and were going. My situation was totally different to Billy's. For Billy's players, Hibs is their immediate future so I think he can really instil a lot of camaraderie and good positive energy. He's that type of man so I'm sure they will be working hard for him and for Hibernian Football Club."
While expecting Brown to make the most of the opportunity, Shiels is keen to witness a return to winning ways for his own side following Kilmarnock's shock 6-3 defeat to bottom side Inverness. He said: "It's vital that we perform and it's important we get a result. It's important to us that we get back winning again."