Former agent of Thomson and Brown hits out at 'total lies'

SCOTT Fisher, the former agent of Hibs midfielders Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson, has defended himself following public criticism of his handling of the pair's current Easter Road deals.

The players' new agent, Willie McKay, has accused Fisher of misleading and badly advising Brown and Thomson when they agreed their latest contracts in March.

McKay has been trying to initiate talks with Hibs chairman Rod Petrie in recent weeks to negotiate improved agreements for his highly rated clients, but his calls have fallen on deaf ears with Petrie upset at the way he has conducted his business via the media.

The impasse came to a head on Saturday when Brown, contracted until 2009, handed in a written transfer request following the 2-1 win over Dundee United, only for manager John Collins to rip up the letter.

Thomson was said to be "mulling over" whether to follow his team-mate and best friend's lead, but Collins yesterday insisted his skipper, who is tied to the club until 2010, had assured him he would not be making a similar plea.

"I spoke with Kevin [on Monday], we had a good chat and he won't be handing in a transfer request," said Collins.

McKay has argued that the two players are being underpaid by Hibs, citing the 3 million price tag reportedly being placed on their head as proof that they deserve bigger salaries than the 1,500-a-week it has been reported they earn.

The controversial Monaco-based agent has also claimed the Easter Road side have reneged on an agreement to renegotiate the players' contracts at the start of this season.

However, Fisher broke his silence yesterday, denying that any such agreement existed when the players' current deals were struck in March and rubbishing the salary figures quoted.

Fisher is adamant he gave Thomson and Brown sound advice and that the players were happy to work within Hibs' strict wage structure less than six months ago.

He said: "I don't want to be getting into a bun fight with Willie McKay or slag off another agent but I'm very disappointed in the whole thing, especially with the players. The facts of the matter are I gave the players 100 per cent and the advice I gave them was sound.

"The management, Rod Petrie, the fans all knew that those two players were going to outgrow the club and move on to bigger and better things. All players have to serve an apprenticeship and they are coming to the end of their apprenticeship.

"They deserve to be on more money than they are on but that is not going to happen at Hibs because of the wage structure.

"The wage structure is in place and they are at the top end of that structure. I've seen a lot of figures mentioned that are total lies They are both on a lot more than that. I also know that it was never said to me by either Rod Petrie or [former manager] Tony Mowbray that they would get a renegotiation at the start of this season. Why, only two games into the season in August, would Hibs want to renegotiate?"

Fisher, who still has Hibs striker Steven Fletcher on his books, added:

"I tried to put in a clause that they could speak to clubs if they came in for them but Rod Petrie would have none of it because he said that would allow me to tout them about at a price.

"But what Hibs did say was look at the two players that have just left the club [Derek Riordan and Garry O'Connor] and they said that proved they could go on to better things in the future."