Lennon’s plea to out of contract Hibs stars

HIBERNIAN manager Neil Lennon has urged his out-of-contract stars to remain at the club as they look forward to their return to the Scottish Premiership. The Easter Road side sealed promotion from the Championship at the third attempt on Saturday but the Northern Irishman now faces a busy summer in the transfer market. Hibs rejected a bid of up to £1.5million from Peterborough United for top scorer Jason Cummings last summer just weeks after he signed a four-year contract. Influential midfielder John McGinn has two years left to run on his deal in Leith but is likely to attract interest, with Celtic and Sunderland already linked with a summer move for the 22-year-old. However, Lennon believes it would be disappointing if the core of his successful squad were to depart. ‘They have all been done — all the players were offered new contracts,’ he said. ‘That was done months ago. ‘It’s up to the players to

accept or if they want to move on. ‘It’s now up to them. ‘Do they want to play in the Premiership at a good club like this? ‘If they want to go somewhere else for more money that’s their prerogative. ‘It would be a shame (if some left) because momentum is all important when you get promotion. ‘It’s important to keep the squad together. ‘They are a good bunch and they’ve enjoyed some success in the last year and a half.’ After three long years in Scotland’s second tier, Hibs can finally build to consolidate

their place in the Premiership. Lennon admits his players require toplevel football to show the ability they possess against the country’s best teams. ‘I think the players need Premier League football — it would showcase them at their best,’ he said. ‘It’s difficult here at times when teams (in the Championship) make themselves difficult to beat and don’t really add a lot to the games. ‘Next season will be different. ‘There will be better quality players, the games will be more open and I think that will suit Hibs.’ Lennon has, at times, been critical of his players this season and labelled them as having a ‘boyband’ attitude over the years before he took charge of the club last summer. However, he believes the team can compete at the highest level next season and sees a top-six finish as a reasonable expectation. ‘Look, the reason they are in the Championship is because they switch on and off,’ he said. ‘We had to make them more consistent. Now we’re in the Premiership, I don’t think that there will be as much inconsistency. ‘The expectation will be less but there will still be expectation to finish in the top six, I would imagine.’