Harry Cochrane needed to leave Hearts to progress his career according to former Hibs keeper Alan Rough.
It was announced on Friday the youngster had rejected a contract extension at Tynecastle and will find a new club in the summer.
The 19-year-old has struggled to nail down a regular first team place since he burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old.
And pundit Rough has backed the midfielder's decision as he believes he needs to be playing week in, week out.
He also feels the reason it hasn't worked out for him at Hearts was the incredibly high bar he set following his impressive debut against Celtic.
He told PLZ Soccer: "He's got to live up to that expectation. He's got to perform at that level every week.
"Being a young lad I think it happened for a wee while and they decided to take him out of the equation and he never got back in.
"He went out on loan and then he went back again.
"As a young lad, he needs to decide 'I want first team football and if I want to progress my career, I need to be playing regularly.
"If it's not Hearts, he needs to find somewhere else."
