Hibs striker Jason Cummings admits Neil Lennon’s arrival as head coach was a huge factor in him signing a new four-year deal with the club.
The 20-year-old ended speculation about his future after committing himself to the Leith outfit last Wednesday on the eve of their 1-0 Europa League loss to Danish outfit Brondby.
Having netted 46 goals in two seasons with Hibs, Cummings had attracted interest from a string of clubs south of the border, and Turkisk outfit Trabzonspor.
But after being invited to Paris for face-to-face talks with Lennon while the Hibs head coach was working as a pundit at Euro 2016, Cummings had no hesitation in putting pen to paper on a new contract.
Cummings, who had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside in last Thursday’s second qualifying round first leg defeat to the Danes, said: “I enjoy it here, it’s a good set of lads and we’ve brought in a good manager that I think I’ll learn a lot from.
“It’s early doors and he’s only been in for a few weeks but I can see that I’m going to thrive under him and will learn a lot from him.
“He brings that winning mentality and his training has been really sharp, and I’m looking forward to working under him.
“The new manager was part of the reason to sign a new deal, I get good vibes from him and I feel like I’m going to play well under hm and learn a lot.”
Scottish Cup winner Cummings’ costly penalty miss against Hamilton in the play-off final relegated Hibs two years ago and the youngster admits another reason for staying was to fulfil his promise that he would help take the club back up to the top-flight.
He added: “I can’t wait to get started this season. The main aim is to get promoted and I’m going to do my best to get us back in that league.
“I was here when we got relegated and I said I’d do my best and I would stay until we got promoted, and I’m a man of my word.
“I just want to score as many goals as I can, I’m not really setting any targets this season.
“I just want to do my best and give my all for the team. The main target is to get promoted and if we do that, that’ll be enough for me.”
Hibs will attempt to defend the Scottish Cup after ending their tortuous 114-year wait for glory in the competition with victory over Rangers in May, but Cummings admits promotion is the be-all and end-all.
He added: “The Scottish Cup win was an experience that I’ll never forget and an experience that the fans and the club will never forget.
“I was glad to be apart of that. The cups this year are a bonus, the main thing is promotion. If we get another cup run it would be good but I’m just concentrating on this promotion.”
