JOHN COLLINS last night delivered the news Hibs fans craved - Steven Fletcher wants to stay at the club.
But the Easter Road boss accepts he will eventually lose the Scotland B international star.
Collins revealed Fletcher is on the brink of signing a lucrative new deal after the player performed a u-turn on his future.
He has agreed to re-negotiate his current deal - which runs until 2011 - just weeks after it looked likely he would be sold in January for £3million.
The Old Firm were waiting to pounce on the latest talented kid to come through the Hibs youth ranks but delighted Collins insists Fletcher is going nowhere.
He said: "I have had a chat with Steven and he's made it clear he wants to stay at the club because he is enjoying his football here.
"He feels it's the best place for him to learn and develop as a player and so do I and Tommy Craig.
"Hopefully, we'll have some good news on him in the next few days with regards to a contract extension.
"There's no doubt Steven will eventually leave but the secret is the timing of any move. He has to leave at the right time.
"There's no rush because he's still a young lad who is developing his game and he knows that.
"There are many players who have moved on too soon and regretted it. It happens all of the time.
"Scott Brown is a perfect example of someone who waited until the right moment to make his move.
"He became a full Scotland international player before he moved on and often in that case everyone gets a better deal. The players is more confident and both clubs benefit."
Collins drew on his experiences with an impassioned plea to Fletcher to hang fire on a big move.
He moved to Celtic in 1990 for £1m as a 21-year-old but only after amassing almost 170 games for Hibs and turning down the advances of some big clubs in England - including Chelsea.
He then went on to net 47 times in 221 appearances for Celtic, before starring for Monaco and Everton and picking up 58 Scotland caps.
Collins said: "I had the same situation when I was a player. At 19, I had opportunities to leave Hibs and go down south to some big, big clubs.
"I could have gone to Chelsea but decided this was the place for me to stay and develop for a few more years.
"I had good advice from good people and I'm glad I took it.
"It's always a big draw when a club comes in for you. You wonder if the chance will come again if you say 'no' but if you have belief in your ability there will be more opportunities.
"Your talent never leaves you. It only gets better with hard work and that's the philosophy Steven has. He doesn't want to go anywhere."
While Fletcher is sticking around, so is Collins. After steering Hibs to CIS Cup glory last term and to third in the SPL, his name is in the mix to replace Alex McLeish as Scotland manager.
But, like Fletcher, Collins feels he's too young to make the step up.
The 39-year-old said: "It's flattering to be linked with the post but I'm sure there will be a lot of others mentioned.
"One day I'd love to manage my country, of course I would. If the time comes when I'm asked then I'll think about it but I'm sure that won't be for a number of years.
"It's more suited to an older, experienced manager in my eyes because it's a different role to the one at club level.
"You don't get out on the training field every day and games come every two or three months. You don't buy and sell players. It has pluses and minuses.
"The biggest plus is the pleasure in managing your own national team and I'm sure, had we made it to the Euro finals then Alex McLeish would have stayed on to see us through it."
