Hibernian manager, Alex McLeish, said yesterday that striker John Robertson, who has been released by Hearts, was the type of player he believed could propel his club back into the new Premier League.
McLeish, who made his comments as Hibs signed a new three-year strip deal with the company Le Coq Sportif, admitted that both Robertson and Rangers striker Ally McCoist were on his list of possible acquisitions. He had had informal talks with McCoist and had been waiting to see what the situation was with Robertson at Tynecastle.
The Hibs manager said the club needed competition for places, with Stevie Crawford and Barry Lavety the only recognised strikers.
He added that he had given midfielder Grant Brebner until tomorrow to decide whether he wanted to stay at the club he had joined on loan from Manchester United. He also said he hoped to thrash out deals with goalkeeper Bryan Gunn and defenders Brian Welsh, Willie Miller, and Darren Dods.
Next season, he will have a squad of around 20 first-team players, compared with more than 50 on Hibs' books last season. He confirmed money would be available to spend on players but the Hibs board, under new chairman Tom O'Malley, had not said how much would go to the manager.
McLeish said both Robertson and McCoist were quality strikers. ''McCoist and Robertson are on a list of possibles I would want to speak to but both players will have their own agendas,'' said McLeish.
Of McCoist, the Hibs manager said he had spoken to him informally but joked it was easier to get Bill Clinton to return your phone call than McCoist.
He said it was vital that the club sorted out players' contracts soon so they could work out the way forward for the club in the close season before he left to watch the World Cup next week.
Hibs' commercial director, Tommy Dickson, said the sponsorship deal with Le Coq Sportif was among ''the top three or four in Scotland'' - which would put its value well into six figures.
q Rangers midfielder Stuart McCall yesterday confirmed he is quitting Ibrox to return to Bradford, the club where he started his career. The former Scotland inter-nationalist, 34 next month, will be paraded by the English first division outfit today. He is believed to have agreed a three-year contract worth #1m.
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