Hibs manager impressed with new signing Hart

JOHN HUGHES believes that Michael Hart's best years are still ahead of him - but reckons the experience the defender already has under his belt could be a huge boost to his team-mates.

Hart put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Hibs yesterday, becoming the third new face to join the Easter Road ranks this summer, joining former NAC Breda skipper Edwin de Graaf and Norwich youngster David Stephens.

Hughes has spent much of the summer searching for a new right-back to strengthen his side and the former Preston North End, Aberdeen and Livingston defender comes to Edinburgh with a good pedigree.

The 30-year-old has been on Hughes' radar for quite some time and could even have made the move north at the beginning of the year, only for a change of manager at Deepdale to revive his playing career in England temporarily.

The Hibs manager is delighted to have finally captured his man and is certain that his addition to the squad will bring an added competition among his players.

Hughes said of his new signing: "Make no mistake, Michael is a quality player with lots of experience and he is a top-class right back.

"So we are delighted to be able to add him to our squad and we believe he will make a big contribution here at Hibernian.

"Michael is a player that has been on our radar for a long time now and, for different reasons, we were previously unable to bring him to the football club.

"But, as I keep saying to the supporters, sometimes you need to be a little patient and that approach has certainly paid off this time around.

"He is an ambitious player, who has already proven his credentials in the SPL and he is also a leader who will help the development of some of our younger players.

"Michael will bring real experience to the side, which is something I have been looking for.

He is a great athlete, he's got a lot of experience under his belt and I think that he will bring a real competition for places into the side.

"He has been there and done it - and he knows the Scottish game like the back of his hand."

Hughes feels that the player is approaching his best years in terms of playing football and says Hibs will benefit from that in the season ahead.

"We know a lot about him and he's got great character, as well as great ability, and I think that he has still got his best years in front of him," Hughes stressed.

"You peak from the age of 28 through to about 34 or 35 and we just need to get him settled in and hopefully get the best out of him.

"I could see him in training yesterday morning, out on the pitch bringing a real leadership quality, and it was the same with Edwin.

"I think in those two we have got guys who will bring a sense of responsibility and set standards at the club."

Hart joined up with his new team-mates for the first time yesterday morning and Hughes was instantly impressed with what he saw, stressing that the player will not only bring skill but also valuable experience to what is, essentially, still a youthful Hibs squad.

Hughes continued: "The boys have been working really hard for us, I have been absolutely delighted with the shape that they have come back to training in.

"It is obvious to us that they have looked after themselves in the close season and that they appreciate what this career is all about and the kind of training that they are getting.

"I think that is maybe the reason that we have got the kind of response that we have from them so far.

"Collectively, they have worked very hard, even in their time off. On our first day back when we were doing all of our fitness testing, three of them ran the yoyo testing right off the scale, they couldn't have done any more.

"It just shows you how fit some of them are.

"Right across the board, I have been very, very pleased, to the extent that we have been able to do a bit more work with the ball, a bit earlier than we maybe expected.

"The other good thing for us at this stage is that they have all already got 90 minutes under their belts, every single one of them in the first-team squad.

"We have played Morton and we have played Dundee over the course of the last few days and, although you don't expect too much from them at this stage of the season, I saw enough in those two games to encourage me."

Hart himself was delighted to have the deal signed and sealed and is relishing the prospect of a battle for the right-back position in the starting XI this season.

He said: "I'm really pleased to sign for Hibernian - it is a club that keeps progressing and I'm delighted to become a part of that.

"My aim is to play regular first-team football and I've played the majority of my career at right-back, so hopefully I can help the team out in that position.

"John Hughes is a manager that I've admired for a long time with his enthusiasm for the game and his ambitious nature.

"But he didn't need to sell Hibernian to me because the prospect of playing Europa League football in a new-look stadium is really exciting."

Hughes' side will get their first public outing tomorrow when they travel to East End Park for their opening friendly match of the pre-season campaign against Dunfermline Athletic.

The Easter Road supporters will no doubt be looking forward to casting their eye over their new signings in a greenand-white shirt for the first time in the flesh, but Hughes is simply looking forward to getting back to playing regular football again.

He said: "Hopefully, the work that we have done sets us up for the game against Dunfermline tomorrow and we're just looking for that wee bit more from them in that match.

"After Saturday, we will really be looking to sharpen them up by putting in some small sided games, smaller, sharper runs and things like that. We are bang on schedule and, once again, I think that the pre-season schedule has been bang-on.

"The reason it has worked for us so far is that the boys have come back in great shape and we have managed to hit the ground running."

While Hart, De Graaf and Stephens have come into Hughes' squad over the course of the summer, Abdesallam Benjelloun and Alan Gow are among those who have headed in the opposite direction, along with Ewan Moyes and Calum Booth, who have gone out on loan to Brechin City.

Hughes continued: "That is football. It evolves and moves on and you have got to work with that. It has been nice to add one or two experienced faces to the team. I wish the boys who have gone all the best, but also the boys who have come into the squad too.

"I hope that they have a right good time at Hibs, that they enjoy their football and I hope that they have every success with us.

"They have all been working very hard and I think that everything is coming together nicely, in terms of the squad that we have and their fitness. Touch wood that it keeps going in that direction, that they will continue to battle hard and that we will be ready to go by the time that the big European test comes around."

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