Maybury prepared for wrath of rival fans as he crosses capital divide

ALTHOUGH Pat Fenlon was beginning to despair at ever being able to make further additions to his squad, Alan Maybury yesterday provided the Hibs manager with a pre-derby boost by finally agreeing a one-year deal with the club.

The full-back, who made 134 appearances for Hearts between 2001 and 2005, is likely to go straight into the side to face Hibs’ derby rivals at Easter Road tomorrow afternoon, and expects to get a reaction from fans in the away stand.

“You understand and respect this rivalry and what it is all about,” the Dubliner said yesterday. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I’m sure I will get plenty of that on Sunday. I remember playing at Easter Road with Hearts, and you didn’t want to hang about when you were taking a throw-in in front of the old East Stand. Maybe I can expect something similar in front of the Hearts fans.

“I’m sure some will be unhappy, but others will hopefully remember that I gave my all for Hearts when I was there, but now I’ve moved on. You never know, maybe I’m the man to unite the fans!

“I’m sure I’ll be alright,” he added. “If you play well then you will be fine. If you don’t, then you won’t. It’s a great game to be involved in and I know what this game is all about. Hopefully the fans will appreciate that I give my all for the club and back me because of that.”

Although not part of the side thrashed 5-1 by Hearts in last season’s Scottish Cup final, Maybury said he has felt the desire to make-up for that result while training with the players over the last few weeks as he waited to be offered a deal.

“There’s been a big turnover here and it is a fresh start,” he said. “Pre-season was very positive and hopefully this can be a really good project. There is a steely determination that a result like the cup final won’t happen again. I was not connected with the club at the time, but there are enough lads here who are adamant that it just can’t happen again.”

Maybury is Fenlon’s seventh signing of the summer, with midfielder Gary Deegan also likely to make his debut tomorrow after arriving from Coventry City earlier this week. Fenlon is pleased to have freshened up his squad but he has been left frustrated by the amount of targets who have been snapped up by other clubs in Scotland. It was clear he was making veiled reference to a certain side from the Third Division who have been preparing for an imminent 12-month transfer embargo by being very active in the transfer market.

“I am still working away,” said Fenlon. “There are a couple of targets at the moment we are talking to. But it is a difficult time, I have to be honest. Every supporter I meet is asking: ‘why haven’t we signed a forward?’ Well, we are trying. But unfortunately there are clubs in this country with a lot more money than we have, which is amazing.

“That’s the way it is I suppose,” he shrugged. “It drives me mad when you see what has happened this season and yet clubs can still go and spend a fortune again on players. It does not make sense.

“People who run other clubs have to worry about how they run their club, we will worry how we run ours,” he continued. “There are other clubs in our own division who are paying a bit more money than us. That’s frustrating. The players are basically telling us that they are going somewhere else because they are getting more money. That’s the usual gist of the conversation. You want people to want to come here, but obviously they have to be looked after from a financial point of view. I understand players have to get the best deals.”