7th June 2001
McManus heads for the sun - on holiday!
Tam shrugs off talk of Easter Road departure
(Stuart Crowther)

HIBS STRIKER TOM McMANUS will board a flight to his sunshine holiday destination, knowing that there is no chance of his well-earned break being interrupted in the way his friend Kenny Miller's was last summer!

McManus, the subject of one of the more bizarre rumours to circulate Edinburgh in recent years, is as surprised as anyone at this morning's stories linking him with a move over the city to Hearts, a move that had it been true would have been more sensational that that undergone by his former Easter Road team-mate Miller, who broke his holiday last year to tell boss Alex McLeish he wished to talk terms with Rangers, eventually joining the Ibrox club for £2m.

Tam can't believe it! (sns)

Hibs.net understands that McManus himself was not aware of the rumours about his future, but in any case the player has made it clear that his commitment to Hibernian has not changed in any way, and having signed a five-year deal with Hibs in June 1999 he had no plans other than to enjoy a holiday before returning to rejoin the club ahead of their pre-season tour in Brittany.  The only other care McManus has is to work on establishing himself as a first-team regular next season.

Hibs Chairman Malcolm McPherson was as baffled as anyone else as to how the story managed to get out of hand, telling the Edinburgh Evening News this evening: "It is simply not true.  We are not interested in letting Tam go - he is a very talented young player and we hope he stays here for a long time.  Hearts have certainly not made any enquiry for him and I would not expect them to do so, we've got Tam tied up on a long-term deal and we would hope he is around to develop into an even better player."

While it is hoped that this will finally nail the talk over McManus's future, one rumour that refuses to end is the link between Alex McLeish and West Ham United, with continued reports that the Hammers, who now appear desperate to appoint a new boss, are ready to table a request with Hibs seeking permission to talk to McLeish.  It would seem however that the Hammers are looking increasingly unlikely to draw McLeish from his holiday let alone Hibernian, with hands-off warnings already issued by the Hibs board.