On 25 May 2014 Hibernian were relegated to the Scottish Championship, losing a two-leg playoff against Hamilton Academical. After the match, Butcher described Hibernian relegation as his "darkest day in football". Butcher was criticised by James McPake, who Butcher replaced as captain with Liam Craig, for not selecting him to play despite being fit. After a meeting with new chief executive Leeann Dempster to discuss Hibs' future plans, Butcher was sacked by the club on 10 June 2014.Hibernian sack manager Terry Butcher following club's relegation BBC Sport,10 June 2014 There were also rumours of Butcher losing the dressing room and then asking players to leave the club in the January transfer window, only to use them to help the club survive relegation.
