There will be no Sol Bamba playing in Slovenia

Sol Bamba
John Hughes has marked Sol Bamba's cards and it is not with little kisses at the bottom. The defender has been told he will not be part of Hibs Europa League debut nor does he have a long-term future at the club. The Ivory Coast defender, who has a year left on his contract, came back from the World Cup for pre-season training on Monday, a week later than expected as he had asked for extra time off after his trip to South Africa, where he was not involved in any games after being troubled by a persistent knee problem. However, he returned too late to be considered by Hughes for inclusion in the squad for the first leg of the third qualifying round. He will be left to train with the youth team as his team-mates prepare to face Maribor in Slovenia on Thursday night. Hughes said: "He is back training with us but he'll not be travelling. All our preparations have been looking forward to the European tie. Sol has not been part of it. He is training with the kids and our focus is on Thursday night."

Hughes is not even considering what will happen with Bamba when they return from Slovenia. The former Falkirk manager said: "It doesn't interest me. I owe it to my team, the supporters, the club, to put all my focus on this European tie. That's why we took a real hard pre-season in Holland, nine days, four real tough matches against good European opposition that will keep the ball, move us about a lot. It was a great experience - Sol wasn't part of that. The guys that rolled their sleeves up and gave me everything, they are the ones that will be going with me for Thursday. What will be, will be. I'm serious, it's not a concern of mine whatsoever. My 100% concern is the European tie. We have been working ever so hard. I couldn't have asked any more of them, doing double sessions, still playing at night, tactically and mentally putting them through the ringer. The dynamics and response have been great. Nothing can get in the way of that."

However, Bamba's future at the club may be in doubt as former Hibs captain and lifelong fan Hughes clearly feels let down by his lack of commitment. Hughes went on: "There's no anger, there's no frustration. If there's any word I'll use it's disappointment. No-one is bigger than the club."
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