John Hughes waits to 'pull a rabbit from the hat'

HIBS boss John Hughes today insisted he's prepared to play a waiting game as he seeks to further strengthen his squad for a twin-pronged attack on Europe and the SPL.

Hughes believes his patience has already been rewarded with the capture, on a free transfer, of Dutch midfielder Edwin de Graaf from NAC Breda.

The 30-year-old will join his new team-mates for the start of pre-season training next Thursday before returning to his homeland with Hughes' squad for four matches against former Eredivisie opponents.

While it remains to be seen as to whether any further new faces will have put pen-to-paper by that date, Hughes admitted that while he's keen to add more signings, he won't be rushed.

The arrival of the former Dutch B cap came as Easter Road fans fretted at the apparent lack of transfer action but, having sprung surprises last season by snaring Republic of Ireland internationalists Anthony Stokes and Liam Miller, Hughes claimed his latest addition was again proof of him being able to "pull a rabbit from the hat."

And today he refused to rule out further surprises, saying: "You get a feel for these things but it is a matter of just being patient, to get the right one in like Edwin.

"We've been working on one or two things, I feel we are still a bit short in a couple of areas but there's no point in making signings simply for the sake of it."

Meanwhile, Hibs today revealed a slight change to their programme in Holland with Hughes players now due to face NEC Nijmegen, who finished 13th in the Eredivisie last season, on Monday, 13 July. The game replaces the scheduled fixture with De Graafschap which was due to have been played the previous day.