Hart not in it for the cash, says Hibs boss

Hart's contract with Preston was cancelled yesterday by mutual consent and the player is believed to have walked away from a six-figure sum that the Deepdale club were due to him in order to make the switch to Edinburgh.

Hughes had been tracking the 30-year-old player for some months and revealed to supporters the determination Hart had shown to finally sign for Hibs.

Hughes said: "He had been on our radar for a while, so it is nice to have everything done in time for the start of the season and I will say this now to the supporters; Michael made this happen.

"He made real sacrifices in terms of his finances down at Preston to make sure that he could come up and play for Hibs. It just shows you the nature and the standing of the guy, it's not all about money for him, he just wants to come up here and play football.

"He could quite easily have stayed down there and carried on. He was out of the picture at Preston and he could have sat on the bench or in the stand with his feet up and taking his wages.

"He didn't want to do that, he wants to be involved week-in, week-out and that says it all about him."

Hart is keen to get back to playing regular first-team football and is setting his sights high in his first season. He has targeted third spot in the SPL, or higher, saying: "Hibs have always been a big club. Now they've got the set-up behind the scenes, hopefully we can kick on in football terms and get third spot, if not beyond."