Ofir Marciano will be leaving Hibs when his contract expires this summer.
Head Coach Jack Ross confirmed the news yesterday but insisted that the situation will not affect his desire to help the club finish in third place and qualify for Europe.
Marciano has been in fine form this season with a record number of clean sheets but he is keen to test himself at a higher level.
Ross said: “Ofir won’t accept the deal, won’t be taking up the offer of the contract beyond the expiry of the current one in the summer. He’s been open about that with me. We offered him the best we could within our structure.
“I think he’s at an important part of his career in terms of his future, he has a young family with another child on the way. He’s in his 30s now and he feels like his future lies elsewhere.
“I appreciate he has been open with me because we have that type of relationship, and it allows me to start to plan for life beyond the summer when he is not with us.
“We always do the best we can within our structure to keep our best players. But there’s always a ceiling on that. We did the best we could and Ofir was respectful of that.
“Him and I enjoy a good relationship and the good thing is he felt comfortable enough to come and tell me his decision rather than it dragging on and it becoming problematic.
“He has got a strong focus and desire to make sure we finish in third in the league. We are both clear in where we are at and I don’t think it has affected him in any way in terms of his performance.”
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.
