Liam Miller took his time in deciding what his next career move would be, and after several years in England it was perhaps expected that the former Celtic and Manchester United midfielder would remain in that part of the world. It was then something of a surprise last week when the Republic of Ireland international turned up at Easter Road Stadium just in time for the annual team photo shoot - a great surprise for Hibernian supporters who were rightly delighted at John Hughes managing to capture a player of such quality.

The careful consideration Liam put into his next move was swung in the end in favour of the Hibernian manager, and the facilities on offer at the club was yet again a telling factor in the decision-making process: "The manager I think was a big reason for my deciding on Hibernian, everything I heard about him and this club was positive and when I came here and saw the facilities that are available that topped it all off for me. The organisation at the Hibernian Training Centre is up there with the best of them, everything down to the pitches which are in great condition.

"And it was the same at the Stadium, my first day of training was at Easter Road - it's a great Stadium with the club also have a great supporters, so it was set up perfectly for me."   Although he has been without a club since May, Liam had kept himself fit by training back home in Ireland where the football season was in full swing throughout the summer. That allowed John Hughes to pitch his latest signing straight into the squad for the game at Hamilton on Sunday - although it was not to be the best of debuts for the Irish international, pressed into action for the final half-hour with the game all but lost.

"My first game there on Saturday was obviously very disappointing," Liam told Hibernian TV, adding: "We were all very down after that one but we have listened to what the manager had to say after that and know we have to turn that one around on Saturday against St Johnstone."

The defeat last week has done nothing to diminish confidence in the Hibernian ranks, with Miller noting the quality Hughes has brought together at the club - and confident that given time they will gel into strong contenders: "While I've been away from Scotland for a while I have always kept an eye on the Scottish Premier League and what is happening up here. At Hibernian I could see that there is a lot of quality in the squad here, I can see also from training with them over the last few days just how good the players here are. I can feel at home because there are a few Irish lads here already as well!"