Hibs showed off their latest signing today as Rowan Vine was paraded at Easter Road. He signed for Hibs on Saturday after being released by St Johnstone. Vine was disappointed in how the end of his time in Perth was handled and was pleased to stay in Scotland. Vine played a prominent part in St Johnstone's third-placed finish in the SPL last season, but was not offered a new deal to stay on. The forward was under the impression that an offer would be made after, then, manager Steve Lomas hinted they would need to qualify for Europe to have the resources to meet his wages. However, with Lomas leaving to become Millwall manager and being replaced by Tommy Wright, Vine says he was not called in to hear of any new contract. He has now signed a one-year deal and feels fate has been kind despite a disappointing end to an enjoyable season in Perth. He said: "I'm not one for demanding things and needing to know where I'm at. I like to think performances speak for themselves. I played 37 games and scored seven goals and played wide left and we finished third in the league. Everything pointed to them wanting to keep me, I didn't think I needed a conversation. I just had a very short conversation with the manager at the time and he said he didn't think the club were going to be able to fit me into the budget, we needed to get third in the league, which we did, and he was going to come back to me after that. That was the last thing I heard. He then got the Millwall job which was fair enough, but I didn't hear anything from St Johnstone after that, which for me, I thought wasn't the best way to handle it. I've got a lot of friends there and I wish everyone all the best there, but I just thought it could have been handled a little bit more respectfully. But if they had been on the phone to me, I might have made a different decision and I'm delighted to sign for Hibs and not particularly concerned about what happened at St Johnstone, because I believe I'm in a better place now."There was interest from down south for the former Birmingham and QPR forward but he was more than happy to continue his stay in Scotland, especially at Hibs. Vine, who could make his debut in the Europa League second qualifying round first leg against Malmo in Sweden on Thursday, said: "There were a couple of other things in the SPL. When I knew I was coming away from St Johnstone, I told my representatives that I had enjoyed it in Scotland but if I was to come back I would want to play for one of the proper clubs in the SPL. And I think Hibs are widely regarded as being up there as a proper football club with proper facilities and somewhere you should enjoy playing your football. I've played in the Championship a lot of my career and League One but having played a season in the SPL, the comparisons some people make are not fair. It's a good level and you don't find many places like this outside the Premier League in England. There were tentative enquiries from teams in the Championship but when a team like Hibs were interested I jumped on the plane to come up here."
Source: ScottishFitba
Source: FOOTYMAD
