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ALAN STUBBS will use his own personal experience of trying to engineer a move in his bid to get the best out of Scott Allan.

The Hibs boss has blocked his wantaway star midfielder’s dream of a switch to Rangers despite the player handing in a transfer request.

Stubbs insists he knows exactly what the 23-year-old is going through having tried to force an exit from Bolton himself 20 years ago.

Arsenal were just one of the big guns on the trail of the defender back then but the Trotters made Stubbs stay and play the whole season as they battled for top-flight survival.

It was only after Bolton were relegated that they decided to cash in on Stubbs by selling him to Celtic for £4million in 1996.

And the Easter Road gaffer now denies being a hypocrite over his Allan stance despite having also handed in a transfer request in 1995 in the hope of joining a “top club”.

Stubbs, though, will use the episode – which saw him jeered by Bolton fans – to try and manage the current situation as he tries to get Allan focused on Hibs again.

He said: “I can’t not understand the transfer request because it would make me look stupid as I’ve been in his shoes.

“I can appreciate where he is but the circumstances were different. How? Because I wasn’t going to our nearest rivals.

“I stayed until the end of the season. I knuckled down and I later went for £4m. That’s how it's different.

“Of course I had to contend with things but you have to go through that as a player. It’s not all roses in the garden.

“You have to deal with ups and downs, situations that are part of being a footballer. But you learn from these things.

“I’m certainly dealing with Scotty better than I was dealt with! I can tell you that.

“Seriously, I understand how he is being advised. But the transfer request doesn’t change our position as a club. We will not do business with Rangers. I don’t how clear I have to be.

(Image: SNS)

“The transfer request is not a personal indictment on me. It’s just Scott doing what he is told to do and what he feels he can do to push the move.

“I will not fall out with Scott. I will not lose any respect for Scott whatsoever. As far as I’m concerned, he is still a vital member of my squad.”

Asked if Hibs would sell to clubs other than Rangers, he said: “That’s hypothetical.

“If anything comes in, we as a club discuss it and do what is in the best interests of the club. That is the process.”

Stubbs has now snapped up John McGinn from St Mirren but insists the midfielder hasn’t been signed as a potential replacement for Allan.

The Hibs boss said: “People have tried to link it but I can assure you the deal is all about the player himself. It’s a fantastic signing for us.”