ASKED HOW Derek Riordan is likely to approach the coming seven days, Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen offered a reply which suggests he understands his charge as well as anyone.
"He'll do his usual. He stands about then he gets his chance and gets us a goal. I don't think he knows anything else. He's a very calm character and that's why he's a great goalscorer, because he doesn't get excited in those situations. He's very ca
lm and I don't think he'll be too nervous or excited on Sunday or next Saturday."
This afternoon affords the striker the first opportunity to prove that when he runs out for his first derby appearance since returning 'home' this summer. On Saturday he then faces Celtic and a manager who left him languishing on the sidelines for large chunks of his two years at the Old Firm club. There he was granted just 13 starts and 19 substitute appearances, which tallied 1,036 minutes of football. A far cry from the way his worth is viewed in Leith.
Before leaving for Glasgow he netted 64 goals for the Easter Road side in 146 games, since his return he has managed three in just 258 minutes of football.
It means he has nothing to prove to anyone this afternoon, according to team-mate Ian Murray. Like Riordan he sampled life as an Old Firm player before eventually pitching up back in Edinburgh last season, relishing a renewal of capital rivalries.
"He won't feel too much pressure. He has played a few games now since he has been back and scored a few goals. If he hadn't got the goals then maybe he would be under more pressure but he has scored winners for us already and everyone knows he is the kind of player who can do that again.
"I'm sure the derby is one of the games he will have looked at when he came back and he will have been delighted that we hadn't played Hearts already. After such a hard time at Celtic, he'll be looking forward to getting involved in games like this one. He won't have any fears though because he knows he scored a fair few goals against Hearts the last time he was here. There were some belters." Indeed, Riordan netted five times in 12 derby appearances.
In his first game back, against Hearts, Murray covered every blade of grass, a man on a mission. He suspects his colleague's input will differ slightly. Not renowned for tracking back or tackling, it is considered one of the reasons Gordon Strachan utilised Riordan so sparingly but those at Easter Road are willing to look beyond those weaknesses, focusing instead on the positives he contributes.
"We all know he is capable of something special," said David Van Zanten. "He's great because even if he is not playing well, he is capable of scoring a goal out of nothing. In training you can see he is capable of that something special, he can do something different and we are very lucky to have him in our team. He's a very important player."
Riordan is also a born and bred Hibby and assistant manager Donald Park, who helped nurture him as one of the Hibs starlets in their previous stints at the club, says that while it would be welcome, there is no need for him to score to prove his commitment.
"If he has something to prove that might work in our favour. Because he is a flair player, you want him to take the game by the scruff of the neck and do something special. But you don't want him to feel he has to do it all by himself and try to score every time he has the ball. The good thing is that I think he is too intelligent a football player for that. He has the mental strength to cope."
In a week which will be as much a psychological test as a physical one, Riordan has feats to emulate and ghosts to lay to rest. He described periods of his time at Celtic as hell and given the way it panned out he said he felt he had wasted two years of his career. He will hope to reiterate his abilities against Strachan's men on Saturday but the derby is more than a mere warm-up.
"He had such a hard time at Celtic but the fans and the players know what he is capable of," said Murray, "and although he will be planning to put one past them as well, I'm sure if you ask Derek, he would rather score against Hearts.
"In a derby you are trying to impress every time. It has lost none of its appeal and everyone seems to be building this one up. It's the first one of the new season, the Hearts manager's first derby, Mixu's first at Easter Road, and of course it's Derek's first one since coming back. He's fairly laid back, though."
And that will be key, according to Hearts legend Gary Mackay, who admits that he struggled to channel his emotions correctly on derby days. Like Paatelainen, he recognises Riordan's strengths. "Going into those games we always knew we had John Robertson in our ranks," said Mackay, "and that was a huge thing, we knew that we had somebody who believed they could get us a goal."
Riordan offers Hibs a similar confidence. Others may have tried and failed to rework Riordan but now he is back amongst people who wanted him because of what he can do, without being unduly unperturbed by what he can't. Over the next seven days his goal is to prove they made the right choice.
The full article contains 958 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
