Jermaine Pennant's Hibs trial was going great — until he sat down to sign the contract.
Because the former England cap insists he 'felt violated' when he saw the opening gambit Neil Lennon and the Easter Road hierarchy were prepared to put down in the summer of 2017.
Former Liverpool and Stoke man Pennant was at a loose end after leaving Bury and coming up to Scotland to join the newly-promoted Hibees appealed.
He even took part in a friendly against Sunderland but in negotiations he was left wondering if the final figure was missing a zero. Or whether he'd been signed to clean boots rather than race down the touchline in them.
Despite Lennon's best efforts the board weren't up for budging on their offer after six weeks, and Pennant took the time on Open Goal to praise his would-have-been ex manager.
He said: "We got on well. He’s a really good guy. I was there for about six weeks and they put me in an apartment.
"It was pre-season so I did it to get fit and we played a few games. I stayed in Edinburgh which is a lovely city.
"Everything was going amazing but I think the funds .. they came in with an offer and I was like, 'F****** hell! Am I cleaning boots?'.
"So I went back to them and said I would have a think about it.
"I spoke to Neil and he said he would go back to the board but he said (the low offer) was because they needed a striker or certain other positions.
"So they said that was all they could do and they couldn’t budge. So I was like: 'Right where’s my car?'.
"I swear the offer was in the hundreds (per week). I felt violated!"
