Jason Cummings keen to stay for Hibs' Europa adventure

Jason Cummings celebrates with the Scottish Cup

The club’s top scorer is out of contract in a year’s time and speculation continues to mount that he will be sold, with several English clubs, as well as Rangers, reported to be interested.

Cummings indicated that he is happy at Hibs and keen to stay for next season’s Europa League adventure after he helped his team claim Scottish Cup glory on Saturday.

When asked if the remarkable final against the Ibrox side was likely to be his last game for the club, he joked: “Never mind Hibs – that’s me retired from Scottish football. It can’t get any better.”

The 20-year-old added: “I’m contracted for next season and, as far as I’m aware, I’ll be back in for pre-season at Hibs. That’s all I know. We’re in Europe now and that’s another good reason for me to come back. I think I should be coming back.”

Much of the pre-match talk had centred around whether top scorer Cummings would start alongside Anthony Stokes in light of stiff competition from James Keatings. Cummings was relieved to be handed a starting place.

“I didn’t know if I was going to start the game because Keatings has been on fire and Stokesy is always a threat, so I was delighted to get the nod and be part of a fantastic day,” he said.

Cummings made headlines in the build-up to the game after being pictured having a kickabout in his socks with friends at Saughton Park. He joked: “That was the key to us winning, that wee kickabout in midweek with the boys. I don’t know if Stokesy would have got that assist if I hadn’t gone out with the boys.”

Cummings insists Saturday’s glory was just reward for the efforts the Hibs players had put into a marathon season. “We have deserved something from this season and we got a wee bit of luck that we needed because we’ve been robbed a bit this season in the League Cup and play-offs with goals against us in the last minute,” he said. “I knew before the game that this was going to be our day, I just had a feeling. The boys deserve it. The boys that played and scored the goals but also the ones on the bench and even someone like [Dominique] Malonga who put one in the top bag in the first round to put us through. So it’s not just the boys in the final, it’s everyone. It’s the coaching staff, the physios, I’m buzzing for everyone at the club.”