by Stuart Crowther

Date: 22nd May 2002

Brewster clinches Pars deal Just how much trouble are Hibs in? CRAIG BREWSTER LAST NIGHT CLINCHED a two-year contract at Dunfermline - and left Hibs fans wondering just how deep are the problems facing Hibernian ahead of next season?  Brewster was by no means the highest paid player at Easter Road, having signed a deal Hibs.net understands to have been around £4,000 a month when he moved from Greece just under a year ago.  And yet in spite of the fact that manager Bobby Williamson wished the veteran striker to remain at Easter Road, Hibs have lost the player to SPL rivals. Like all Scottish football fans, those following Hibernian have swallowed the bitter pills being handing out, that the SPL is in trouble and Hibs had to tighten the purse strings.  And yet the clubs supporters are watching on as the likes of Brewster is snapped up by Dunfermline.  They look on as former Hibee Mixu Paatelainen enters talks with Livingston, and the player that was being touted as a replacement for Brewster at Easter Road, Tommy Johnson, is also being linked with a move to the West Lothian club.  Even Hearts are looking at new blood for next season.  The cut-price SPL then is clearly not effected all clubs, and Hibs fans are now beginning to wonder if perhaps the problems facing Hibs are a little bit greater than we are being led to believe? Brewster turned in some superb performances for Hibs under Bobby Williamson, so it was no surprise the boss wished him to remain at Easter Road.  Williamson though is more aware of the true state of finances than anyone, and the boss had been making noises almost immediately after taking over at Easter Road about being happy with the squad he had.  When asked directly by Hibs.net if by that he including those players such as Brewster and Jack who were out of contract, Williamson gave an emphatic yes, so the assumption then has to be that he will not be a happy man this morning as he sees Brewster head over the Forth Bridge. Craig Brewster - over the bridge (hibs.net) While Hibernian will not discuss the extent to which they need to slash the Easter Road wage bill, it has been reported that cuts of £1m are required, indicating that there never was the slightest chance of Brewster being offered a new deal in July, as was hinted, and that the player himself knew that.  Indeed finding cuts of that extent will need a lot more than simply letting Brewster and Jack move on to pastures new, Williamson must surely be looking at losing the likes of Ulrik Laursen and Ulises de la Cruz along with a few other in-contract players before the league campaign gets underway again in August.  Even those players who are likely to remain are being asked to take a cut in their current wage, and so far Hibs are the only SPL club to have made such a move, in public at least. For Brewster at least the future is looking brighter.  "When you come out of contract, it can be a worrying time but I am delighted to be going to Dunfermline, especially as the deal is for two years," the striker said.  There is a feeling around Easter Road that Brewster could come back to haunt the club, Brewster clearly sad to be leaving Hibs when he said: "I had a very good year at Hibs and enjoyed myself but they made it clear they could not offer me anything."  Begging the question, if Hibs can't afford Craig Brewster, who can they afford?