Scott McDonald claims he never came close to signing for Hibs
The 32 year old says he held talks with the Hibees that didn't progress.
Scott McDonald revealed he never came close to signing for Hibs after he extended his stay at Motherwell.
The 32-year-old held talks with Hibees boss Neil Lennon, his former Celtic team-mate, but opted to sign a new one-year deal at Fir Park.
The Australian said: There was an offer on the table from the end of last season and a couple of other opportunities arose, and we looked at them. But I wanted to come back and I'm happy to come back.
It's a special place. It kick-started my career. We had a great season last year and hopefully we can replicate that. I have so many friends and memories in this building and hopefully there are a few more memories to be made.''
When asked about Hibs, McDonald said: It was a possibility but being down the line with it like someone was saying? I don't think it was ever there. I never spoke to a chief executive or a manager for a couple of weeks.
I spoke to Neil a couple of weeks ago but in terms of down the line, I spoke to a head of recruitment, that was as far down the line as it went.
Hibs knew what I was offered here and we never really got to a ball park. It's a great club and something I was interested in, but I had time to reflect and I wanted to come back here.
It wasn't too difficult. The attraction to work with Neil again, and we all saw what Hibs did last year, winning the cup and they have great support. It's a big club and they are fighting to get back to the big league, but we are already here.
We have Rangers in the League Cup straight away and we've got that to look forward to in the league as well.''
McDonald hit 14 goals last season and was increasingly influential after McGhee returned to the club in October, forging a strong partnership with Louis Moult.