I'll give my best for Hibs
Latapy says door is still open
(Stuart Crowther)

BEFORE DEPARTING FOR THE  Caribbean where he will lead his international side in the next stage of their World Cup campaign later this week, Russell Latapy sent another message to Hibs fans that as far as he is concerned, nothing has changed!

Latapy was insisting yesterday that he was ready to turn out for the club against Dunfermline, and that he has been under the same pressures of transfer talk for months so saw no reason why things should change now.  "I would say that it's not just this week that I have been in this situation," Latapy said yesterday, making it clear that he at least felt able to play on Saturday.  He went on: "Things have been this way for months now and I have been played in games, the way I see it nothing has changed.  I'm contracted to Hibernian until the end of the season, and so as long as I pull on a Hibs jersey I will give my best for the club.

"So as long as I am selected I will play and give my best.  I am sorry the manager feels the way he does, as every player who has been in this situation will tell you it's not secret that it's always on your mind.  If that is what he means by my not being in the correct frame of mind then I can understand it."  The problem for Alex McLeish is clearly on of consideration for every player in his squad, and not just one, even one who has proven as valuable to Hibs as Latapy certainly has.  Latapy's representatives have been making it clear since as early as last Summer that the player was willing to move, in particular to the English Premiership, and yet Latapy himself even now insists that the door is not closed to his remaining at Easter Road.

Russell Latapy - mobbed by team-mates in happier times (sns)

Latapy said: "At the present time we have not been speaking for the last week or so, but I am still available to speak to.  No player feels good when they are left out of a side, for whatever reason.  I would never rule out remaining at Hibs, I have loved my time here and have tried to sort out a situation whereby I could stay."  That seems highly unlikely given that Latapy's agent in Trinidad has revealed that talks have already taken place with a number of clubs on Latapy's behalf, including Celtic.  The gap between the demands made by Latapy and the ability to pay on the part of Hibs has always been one that appears impossible to bridge, and if Latapy is serious in his desire to find a way to remain at Hibernian he would be required to moderate his own demands and accept what is on offer, which is the best deal any player has ever been offered by Hibernian.

The relationship between the player and his manager however appears to be intact, with Latapy saying: "We are still the best of pals.  I have still got a good relationship with him, and that has not changed - I trust Alex's judgement and if that is what he chose to do then I have to respect that."  Hibs now have two weeks to work on returning skipper Franck Sauzee and Danish defender Ulrik Laursen to fitness, both players whose influence was sorely missed in the defeats at Aberdeen and Dunfermline.  Paul Fenwick has now served his suspension and is sure to return a week on Sunday, as Hibs strive to recapture some of the momentum that has been lost over the last week.  The club will also confirm that French midfielder Fredric Arpinon has signed early this week, a deal that would have been concluded in time for the Dunfermline game had the paperwork not been delayed.