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Hibs have been forced into a humiliating public climbdown after being forced to exonerate Neil Lennon and Garry Parker of any wrong doing despite booting them out of the club last week.

And Record Sport understands both men have had their contracts paid up in full in a sensational twist to the story that saw the manager and his assistant black-balled by the club following a furious post-mortem to a midweek defeat at Motherwell.

In a statement released late on Wednesday afternoon, Easter Road chairman Rod Petrie confirmed that Lennon and Parker have now left Easter Road by ‘mutual consent’.

But the statement also stressed that they had not been sacked and cleared both of any misconduct during the explosive team meeting at East Mains on Friday which ended with chief executive Leeann Dempster suspending them from the club.

It also revealed that those suspensions were lifted following an internal probe believed to been headed up by Petrie.

The extraordinary Hibs statement read: “The management team of Neil Lennon and Garry Parker has left the club by mutual consent.

(Image: SNS Group)

“They have not been dismissed and have not resigned.

“The suspension, put in place to allow an internal review, was lifted by the club as part of this agreement. Despite widespread speculation, the club confirms that neither Neil nor Garry has been guilty of any misconduct or wrongdoing and no disciplinary process has been commenced.

“However, Neil, Garry and the club now consider that it would be in the best interests of all parties to part amicably.”

Record Sport understands Lennon and Parker hired top Glasgow lawyer David McKie after being left shocked by Friday’s dramatic turn of events.

And, after a weekend of legal consultation, it became clear that Hibs would have to back down from the position originally adopted by Dempster.

So complete was this cave in, in fact, that the club even lavished praise on Lennon’s achievements in yesterday’s farewell statement.

It went on: “The club would like to place on notice its thanks to both Neil and Garry for their hard work and the success they have brought the club. Their period in charge has seen the club restored to the top flight, reach the top four with a record points total, qualify for Europe, have their record season ticket sales since 1958

“Neil and Garry would like to thank the club for having faith in them when they were appointed in 2016 and for their support over two and a half years. They would like to thank their players for their hard work and dedication and finally, the fans for their loyalty and support over their tenure.”

Petrie was also quoted as paying a personal tribute to the duo.

He said “We are grateful to Neil and Garry for all their efforts and in particular for leading the club back to the top flight of Scottish football. We wish nothing but the best for Neil and Garry and their families for the future.”

And Lennon was quoted as saying: “I would like to thank the board, the coaching staff, the players and all the fans for making the last two and a half years so enjoyable. It has been my privilege to serve the club and I wish it every success in the future.”

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To compound matters for the Leith club, former Scotland boss Gordon Strachan has all but ruled himself out of the running to become Lennon’s replacement - while hammering the Hibs regime for the way the pair have been hung out to dry.

Strachan had been installed as the early favourite at the bookies to ride to the rescue of the club he supported as a boy.

But the 61-year-old is a close ally of Lennon’s from their time together at Celtic and has little wish to be considered for the position.

In his column with Paddy Power News Strachan said: “It seems like someone has got sacked for raising their voice and telling a player straight.

“For doing something you see in any business. You’ll hear voices raised in offices across the country. It’s nothing.

“People who are successful talk about managers who drive them to the top, getting the most out of them.

“The ones that fail are the ones who say they got bullied. There’s a correlation between allegations of bullying and failure.

“I rarely see people who are successful and winning things come out and say they’re being bullied.”

And on the links with the empty HIbs hotseat a lukewarm Strachan insisted he is focussed on his plans to improve Scotland’s top young talent.

he added: “if anyone sees me in Edinburgh on Thursday, I’m there to talk about my youth football ideas with the government and local councils and so on – not interviewing for the Hibs job. I’m staying with my mother for a few days, not heading for a job interview.”