Josh Doig admits the transfer speculation surrounding him in the summer left his head "absolutely scrambled".
The Hibs left back was linked with moves to Watford and Burnley after a brilliant breakthrough season at Easter Road last year.
A move south looked to be happening in August but the Premiership Young Player of the Year from last term ended up staying put.
He was completely left out against Motherwell by former boss Jack Ross and admits he was affected mentally.
He said: "There was all the speculation and I tried to stay away from it and leave it to the people who were dealing with it.
“But we were led to believe that I was going.
“I was out of the squad for the Motherwell game and we thought I was going. But then the next thing a move wasn’t happening, and my head was absolutely scrambled.
“It was definitely a new experience for me. I had never been in that situation before, and in all honesty, I probably struggled with it a bit.
“I had to fit back into the team and focus on Hibs again.
“It was hard but I’m grateful I’m still here and still playing because I absolutely love this place, and I am playing with a smile on my face.
“I feel stronger for what happened, that is what football is all about. Everything is part of a learning curve.
“I know it will probably happen again in my career because there is always speculation.
“But coming through it, I reflected on it and slowed down a bit and thought about it. It was hard to deal with really.
“Now I’ll know what to do next time and it is just a case of staying away from all that, staying away from your phone, your pals, all of that, and ignoring it all and focusing on football.
“For me it is all about playing football, whether the transfer window is open or closed.
“That’s all I have done since I was a young boy, and it’s something I enjoy and love. Transfers are exciting and it can be daunting but I just enjoy playing football. No matter where I am if I’ve got a foot on the ball I’m all good.”
Doig will line-up for Hibs against rivals Hearts in the Edinburgh Derby on Tuesday night.
The Scotland under-21 international progressed through the ranks at Tynecastle before moving across the capital.
Doig revealed that all of his family have also switched allegiances over from the 'dark side'.
“The family have all converted to Hibs now," he added. "We used to be on the dark side but we’re all Hibs daft now!
“The way the club treated me when I came in here made us fall in love with Hibs.
“We’ve definitely had a change of heart.
“I dodged a bullet by not having to do a video like Demetri Mitchell’s the other day. He wasn’t too happy with that!
“Being from Edinburgh myself, I know the importance of derbies. It’s the biggest game in the world for me.
“It’s massive for Hibs and the whole team is buzzing for it. We just want to get to Tuesday and play."
