DEREK Riordan knows what John Hughes used to be like, having been a young team-mate of the centre-half during his early days at Hibernian.
He knows what Hughes is like these days, having been disciplined by his now manager after an incident in Edinburgh last weekend. And it is to be hoped – for the sake of his team and also for his own career – that Riordan also knows what Hughes will b
e like if there are any further breaches of the club's disciplinary code.
After Hibs' recent friendly with Dunfermline, Riordan was asked if he had noticed any changes in Hughes over the years. The answer was at once startling and reassuring.
"He doesn't chase you about in the buff now," the striker said. Then, perhaps deciding that a few words of explanation were in order, he added: "He used to turn the lights off and chase the young ones about, but he's really professional now and brilliant to work under."
Riordan might not regard his manager as quite so brilliant after the meeting with Hughes and Hibs chief executive Scott Lindsay which ended with the player being punished for an incident in which he was refused entry to a city-centre nightclub. Riordan is understood to have disputed certain details of newspaper reports about the incident, but Hibs were convinced that the accepted facts of the matter warranted disciplinary action.
Significantly, although the nature of the action was kept private, the fact that Riordan had been disciplined was announced on the club's website. In previous cases, such punishment remained undeclared.
It is not the first time Riordan has been in trouble with either the authorities or his employers, and few of those who have followed his chequered career would predict an unblemished track record from now until his retirement. Far from appearing contrite after previous run-ins, he has consistently given the impression of a man who believes he is being picked on. Authority, in his perception, is there to be resented or resisted rather than respected.
Having been made aware that Hughes will not turn a blind eye to his nocturnal meanderings, Riordan at least has an opportunity to reassess his behaviour, just before the SPL season begins. If he decides that self-control is in order, he could play a big part in a successful campaign for Hibs. If he opts for self-indulgence, he may find, at the age of 26, that his career as a full-time, top-level professional is effectively at an end.
Looking at the Hibs squad as it has been reshaped by Hughes since he moved from Falkirk, it is not immediately apparent where a player of Riordan's unpredictable gifts fits into it. By signing players such as Patrick Cregg and Kevin McBride from his former club, Hughes has shown the value he places on hard work, adherence to a game plan and self-discipline. Given his all-too-apparent lack of interest in tracking back, Riordan does not appear to be integral to such a set-up.
But a solid, well-disciplined team can only get so far on its own. No matter the virtues of players such as Cregg, McBride and their ilk, there is the risk that they may achieve no more than a solid, well-disciplined sixth-place finish.
Throw the unpredictable Riordan into the equation, on the other hand, and Hibs will at least have the chance of doing a bit better. He is the one player on the books at Easter Road who can conjure up something wholly unexpected and thus make a material difference to a match in the blink of an eye.
Given that ability, which even Riordan's most virulent detractors have to admit he possesses, it has been strange and also in a sense frustrating to hear so many people state as fact over the last few weeks that Hibs have lost their best two players since the end of last season. Yes, Rob Jones and Steven Fletcher may have been their two most influential players, and, in that sense, possibly their most important too. But better than Riordan?
In terms of consistency, no doubt. But when it comes to what any of the three could potentially do during a game, Riordan is the best player by some way.
'Potential', of course, is the key word in Riordan's case, especially when prefixed by the adjective 'unfulfilled'. And it is his inability to apply his talent, his tendency to drift out of games, that has led to his being undervalued compared to less gifted colleagues.
Perhaps he has so much money from his time at Celtic that he no longer cares. Perhaps now that Hughes tends to keep his clothes on, Riordan no longer fears his manager.
But for the sake of the game we have to hope that he does care. And that, having been disciplined once by Hughes, he is keen to avoid any imminent repetition of the experience.
