John Rankin told he can leave Hibs as shoulder injury ends Stack's season

JOHN Rankin faces an uncertain future in football after being told by Hibernian that they will not offer him a new contract. The 27-year-old, whose present agreement expires at the end of the season, had not featured in Colin Calderwood's squad for more than a month, and the news that he is to be released therefore came as no surprise to him.

Rankin appears unlikely to be given a run of games in the Hibs team which could help put him in the shop window, but if he is selected at any stage between now and the end of the season he is committed to continuing to do his best for the club he joined from Inverness Caley Thistle in 2008.

"John has been told that he won't be getting his contract renewed with Hibernian," Rankin's agent, Tam Callaghan, said. "His current deal is up at the end of the season, and he will continue to give his all for the club and be ready to play if he is called upon between now and the summer."

Calderwood's signings during the January transfer window included three midfielders - Victor Palsson, Martin Scott and Matt Thornhill - and all have played regularly during a period which has seen Hibs lift themselves clear of danger at the bottom of the SPL table. Former Liverpool player Palsson in particular has given the team greater physicality in the middle of the park, a quality which the manager thought equally necessary up front, where the robust Akpo Sodje has established himself as a regular.

Of the midfielders who were at the club at the start of the season, Liam Miller has remained a regular, but Lewis Stevenson has not had many games, and Kevin McBride, like Rankin, has been told he can leave Easter Road at the end of the season. Both Miller and Stevenson are also out of contract then, however, as is Derek Riordan, and Calderwood looks set to continue his overhaul of the squad during the close season.

The manager's choice of which goalkeepers to retain became more complicated yesterday when it was learned that Graham Stack will miss the rest of the season because of shoulder damage. Stack, who had established himself as first-choice keeper after a period in which Mark Brown and Graeme Smith were also given a brief spell in goal, was injured in last week's win at Hamilton. He is now awaiting shoulder surgery and could be out of action for three months.

Both Smith and Stack are out of contract, while Jakub Divis is due to return to Tatran Presov at the end of his half-season loan.

At present, only Brown and young reserve Thomas Flynn are contracted to Hibs for next season, and Calderwood is expected to be able to renew the contract of at least one other keeper.

Having played well during Hibs' winning run last month, Stack looked to have played his way into Calderwood's plans. Now, though, much could depend on how well he recovers from his latest injury, which follows a lengthy spell on the sidelines with of a back injury.

Provided he returns to full fitness, Stack should begin next season as Hibs' No 1. His confidence and powers of communication played an important part in re-establishing the self-belief of a defence which had been leaking goals with embarrassing ease, helping transform Hibs from a team who could not score a goal in January to a side who hardly conceded one in February. But if the state of Stack's fitness does not become clear until well into the close season, Calderwood will have to decide whether he can afford to have just the Englishman and Brown as senior keepers, or whether holding on to Smith as well looks like a necessary insurance policy. Flynn, who is still only 20, is probably too inexperienced at present to be given a regular berth in the first-team squad.

While the bulk of changes have already been made to the Hibs midfield, the back four and the attack will also see changes in addition to whatever Calderwood decides to do with his goalkeepers. Steven Thicot, who can play in a holding midfield role but has been used more recently as a defender, is another who will be out of contract, while right-back Richie Towell will return to Celtic at the end of his half-season loan.

Up front, Darryl Duffy is due back at Bristol Rovers after his season-long loan. The future of Riordan remains up in the air, while the signing last month of free agent Ricardo Vaz Te has increased competition among the strikers.