Graham Stack signs on for more at Easter Rd

HIBS goalkeeper Graham Stack today vowed to put two injury-ravaged seasons behind him after clinching a new one-year deal with the Easter Road outfit.

The 29-year-old has endured a tortuous time in Edinburgh after being signed by former boss John Hughes in the summer of 2009.

Despite a hamstring problem the ex-Arsenal, Beveren, Millwall, Reading and Leeds United No 1 quickly established himself as Hughes' first choice, starting the next 13 matches before a freak training ground accident in which he suffered a serious eye injury in a clash with team-mate Abdessalam Benjelloun put him out of action for three months.

Stack returned to play a further ten matches that season as Hibs secured fourth place in the SPL table and Europa League football. He played in the second leg against Slovenian side NK Maribor and, despite competition from Mark Brown and Graeme Smith, looked certain to remain in charge of the gloves as Hibs defeated Motherwell in the opening SPL match of last season.

However, Stack was struck down by a back problem which ruled him out for five months - a period which encompassed 25 matches - as Hibs slithered towards relegation, his return coinciding with a run of five successive wins which propelled Colin Calderwood's side to safety.

But Stack's injury jinx struck again, the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 player suffering a shoulder injury which later required surgery after being caught by a late challenge from Hamilton Accies stopper Mark McLaughlin. Today Stack, who is still recovering from that operation, said: "I'm obviously delighted to sign on for another season. I've said all along I wanted to stay at the club and my family are really settled here.

"Now I just want to get the injuries behind me and focus on playing regularly as soon as possible."