Sol Bamba regrets 'misunderstanding'

Sol Bamba last night insisted he remains fully committed to Hibs after describing his pre-season no-show as a "big misunderstanding". However, the Ivory Coast international has revealed he still wants to hold clear-the-air talks with manager John Hughes and chairman Rod Petrie over the controversial episode.

Hibs were furious when Bamba failed to meet up with the squad at their training camp in the Netherlands last month after the player had been given extra time off in the wake of his involvement with the Ivory Coast at the World Cup in South Africa. Despite having failed to play in any of Les Elephants' three group games, the former Dunfermline defender claimed he required longer to recuperate and had cleared that with the club.

The 25-year-old was then left out of the Easter Road side's Europa League first-leg against NK Maribor and made to train with the youths amidst speculation that, with only a year remaining on his contract, he may have played his last game for the club.

But Bamba came back in from the cold for the second leg on Thursday and was again in Hughes' starting line-up in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Blackpool. Bamba is now eager to put the matter to bed. "It was so disappointing to miss the first leg in Slovenia because it was a big game for the club. There was a bit of a misunderstanding between myself, the manager and the club," he said. "It's been a strange few weeks for me. As I said, there was a misunderstanding with the gaffer but everything is okay now. I just need to concentrate on my fitness now and make sure I'm in the team this season.

"I'm happy to be back and everything seems to be okay. But I still want to speak with the manager and the chairman to make sure the issue has been dealt with. I'm back playing, which is the most important thing There has been a lot of talk about me leaving but it's just speculation, I'm staying at the club and I'm happy to be at Hibs.

"I have one year on my contract at Hibs so, if nothing happens, Ill be happy to stay here and see what happens next season."