by Stuart Crowther

Date: 1st July 2002

Waiting almost over for Jack Still no call from Hibs chief, but defender will seek face to face answer MATHIAS JACK WILL RETURN TO EDINBURGH THIS MORNING and seek an answer one way or another from Hibs managing director Rod Petrie, who has kept the German waiting for 5 weeks on the end of a telephone that has never rung.  Jack though at least has had a call from manager Bobby Williamson to reassure him that he at least wants the midfielder back at Easter Road when pre-season training starts this week - but even then Williamson could not promise anything, indicating perhaps just how serious the position is at Easter Road. "Bobby Williamson would give me a one-year contract and, if I continue to play the same way that I did when he arrived at the club in March, then there would not be a problem to get another one year.  He does not like players on long-term contracts because he wants everyone to be kept on their toes and I like this idea and want to prove it," Jack said of his conversation with the Hibs boss, but it was a conversation that could yet prove meaningless as he added:  "But I have to get a contract first."  Few players are more aware of the delicate financial position Hibs find themselves in, and fewer still could be more willing to negotiate a satisfactory conclusion with that in mind.  Rod Petrie was seeking at the end of last season to re-negotiate the contracts of all players at Easter Road, with perhaps longer term deals on offer in exchange for less cash, but those players who are out of contract are finding themselves in an almost impossible situation. Jack - clearing out his flat? Craig Brewster refused to wait on Hibs and was snapped up by Dunfermline, while Jack has indicated to the club from the start that he would be willing to take a wage cut to remain at the club for at least another year.  Jack said: "I spoke to Rod Petrie before leaving Scotland, and while I'm not saying that we agreed terms I did said I was prepared to take a wage cut and he was pretty pleased with my suggestion. I don't see the problem, then.  The whole situation is quite difficult but I'm trying to relax and switch off.  It's not so easy when your future is uncertain. If I knew that I would be starting training with Hibs on July 4 then that would be all I needed to know.  I'm wondering and thinking about it all the time. That's five weeks now that I've been waiting on a phone call from Rod Petrie to say that he has the green light to offer me a contract and that the money is there." Jack's existing deal ends tomorrow, and if no offer is forthcoming from Hibs then the German will be left with little option but to clear his Edinburgh flat and head for home.  Former Hibee striker Mixu Paatelainen has offered Mathias the use of his home in Edinburgh should he wish to remain in Scotland and seek another club here, but that seems an unlikely scenario with few Scottish clubs in a position to offer anything at this stage.  "I can do nothing about it right now, I just have to wait and see what's going to happen next. I'm glad that Bobby Williamson phoned me last week when he came back from holiday and said he was still keen to keep me. That was nice of him and I certainly hope something can be sorted out.  Maybe I'll get the chance to speak to Bobby in person this week. Mixu phoned me to say it was the same situation for him last summer before he moved to Strasbourg. He's back in Edinburgh, having bought a house, and offered me a place to stay with him for a start. "I congratulated Craig Brewster when I heard he had signed for Dunfermline and called to say I hoped I'd face him four times next season, but now I don't know. I must get back to Edinburgh anyway, as I either have to move out of my apartment because my contract expires and take the rest of my stuff with me."  Jack is perhaps the most high-profile victim of the current situation in the SPL, but it does underline the serious nature of that situation when a player the manager wishes to retain, and who has made it clear he understands the financial climate and is willing to compromise, still finds himself facing the dole queue just days before pre-season training is due to start.  "Six players left the club under freedom of contract and I'm the only one that the manager wants to keep.  That's five off the wage bill already been cut. It's up to Rod Petrie to bring the money and if he still says "no", then for me that means no contract and no wages," Jack lamented, a player at 33-years-old who might have to face life outside football somewhat sooner than he had planned. Hibs return to pre-season training on Thursday should herald a few more decisions and some long-awaited news for fans starved of anything but rumour of further departures in recent weeks.