Hibs’ Chief Executive Leeann Dempster has insisted that the club have demonstrated their ambitions by turning down a significant bid for top scorer Jason Cummings from Peterborough United.
The transfer window closes tomorrow and supporters are concerned about a late bid for the young striker which could seriously impact promotion prospects however Dempster is determined to retain his services.
She also revealed that there may be additions to the squad in the next 24 hours.
Speaking ahead of the club’s Scottish Cup Trophy Tour Dempster said: “Jason (Cummings) is an integral part of the team and I think it says a lot for our club to be able to hold on to the some of the strongest and best young talent in Scotland.
“We want to get promoted and selling one of Scotland’s best talents, the club’s highest goalscorer last season and someone who has continued in the same vein this season, doesn’t show the ambition we want to show.
“Football is a strange game and you can never absolutely say never but I am telling you I am saying that nothing is happening in this transfer window and we have no intention of anything happening in the January transfer window either.
“There will be other interest in other players but for us it is about trying to control the things that are within our ability to control. People ask the questions does Jason have a market value or a price?
‘The reality is that numbers are numbers and we have had a number put towards us and we have said no to that number. We are just focused now on the transfer window closing.
“I am not worried about it as we are in control of it and we don’t need to be worried about a last minute offer as we are absolutely in control of that situation.
“There may well be one or two coming in over the next two days but as Neil (Lennon) has said before it is about getting the right people in the right positions. Everybody in Scotland is trying to do the same thing at the moment.
“We have done the business that we wanted to do and Neil told me that he wanted to bring in three players and the positions and we have done that.Anything else would be seen as a bonus if you like.”
“The club has for the past two years ran a Premier league operation. Once you start to go the other way it is hard to scale back up. It is much easier to scale down that it is to scale up. We decided from the get-go that we were not going to do that.
“Sometimes there are points in life and points in football when it is not about the money and it can’t be about the money.
“I have said it for three years now we want to get promoted. Our eyes are firmly focused on the end of the season. Neil and Gary’s appointment has been important for us in terms of retaining the squad.
“That has been important for supporters that we build the squad and have a continuity of squad there.
“We have done a number of things in the transfer window but most importantly we have managed to hold on to the players that we wanted to hold on to.
“On the one hand we are saying to supporters we genuinely are trying to build a team that you will love and enjoy coming to watch and we will not be forced into doing anything.
“The supporters are enjoying what they are seeing on the pitch at the minute.
“We have 3,500 more season ticket holders than we had this time last year so that is a help financially.
“Fans have bought their tickets, paid their money up front and that has put us in good shape.
“Obviously everyone would want to be in even better shape, but I think things are improving in Scottish football.
“For the first time in a long time all the portfolio items in the SPFL are sponsored, that has brought additional revenue.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
