Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom reveals Funso Ojo deal is off

Paul Heckingbottom will now turn his attentions elsewhere after admitting any deal to sign Funso Ojo is off. SNS

The Easter Road men had been battling it out with Premiership rivals Aberdeen for the 27-year-old’s signature after both Hibs and Derek McInnes’ side had met the £125,000 fee set by the English League Two outfit.

With the Belgian now expected to complete his move to the Dons in the next few days, Heckingbottom, who saw his side kick off their Betfred Cup Group D campaign with a 1-1 draw with Stirling Albion before claiming an extra bonus point with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory, insists he will now turn his attentions elsewhere in an attempt to bolster his squad.

“We’re not going to do it, it’s not for us,” Heckingbottom said. “We don’t want to do it. We made a really good offer but it’s not just about that. We have to sign players who want to come here for the right reasons. We want the dressing room to be unbelievable and make sure we’ve got players coming in want to be here. We have to share the same values.

“I thought the deal was done in May but there was a clause in his contract that didn’t allow it to happen. The next thing we know is Scunthorpe have accepted a bid from Aberdeen so we matched it and then within the negotiations things began to change for us. We saw the red lights.

"It’s up to us what we do so good luck to him. The circumstances were totally different second time round so you see things differently. We have to be really careful who we bring into this football club.”

On the match at Forthbank itself, Heckingbottom added: “I always knew it was going to be tough so we’re going to have to earn every point we get. Any game away from home in the cup will be hard. It’s a small pitch which didn’t help us but missed chances that you have to put away. We need to be clinical otherwise that’s what happens.”