Miller talks on hold as Dons wait until Euro drama ends

ABERDEEN have put their attempts to sign Lee Miller on hold until after the striker completes his loan period at Hearts by playing against the Pittodrie club in the Granite City tomorrow.

Initial contact between Aberdeen's executive football consultant, Willie Miller, and the player's agent Mark Donaghy has been encouraging after a £225,000 transfer fee was agreed with Bristol City.

The Dons remain favourites to sign Miller, who rejected a move to Pittodrie when Steve Paterson was in charge in preference for what turned out to be an unsuccessful switch to England's League 1.

However, Hearts, who withdrew their own signing offer to Miller on Thursday, are monitoring the situation and are expected to rekindle their interest if the proposed move to Aberdeen breaks down.

Dundee and Kilmarnock have already rejected the Pittodrie club's bids for their strikers, Steve Lovell and Kris Boyd, although manager Jimmy Calderwood is still awaiting official confirmation of that.

The outcome of the bid to sign Miller will be the decisive factor on whether those offers will be increased but he remains confident of success with a £150,000 bid for Dunfermline midfielder Barry Nicholson.

Calderwood is convinced his team will be even better next season if he gets the players he is chasing, but that won't be decided until their bid for third place and a UEFA Cup slot is sorted out now.

He said: "We've been busy trying to bring new players in and now we're waiting for answers. It would be nice if they called us back because no-one has let me know their decision.

"However, I don't think anything will be done before Monday. It's frustrating because I'd much rather the Lee Miller deal was done one way or the other before I go on holiday at the start of the week. We are trying to set up a meeting with the player and his agent to discuss things but it would be a bit dodgy talking to him before we play Hearts."

Aberdeen need a three-point and six-goal swing in their favour tomorrow to overhaul Hibs in the last game of the season and claim the one remaining European slot in what would be dramatic circumstances. It should be a tall order if recent history between the pair is anything to go by, as the Dons have failed to defeat Hearts in their last 12 meetings and have failed to score a single goal against them in the nine matches.

Laurent D'Jaffo was the last Aberdeen player to manage what seems like a modest feat against the Tynecastle team an astonishing 827 minutes ago, which hardly encourages thoughts of the 5-0 victory that may be required to achieve their goal.

Of course, Calderwood is well aware that the Hearts supporters are desperate for their team to capitulate, but he refuses to contemplate the football equivalent of a second gunman on the grassy knoll in Dallas the day JFK was shot.

He said: "I've heard a few conspiracy theories but they don't wash with me, as professional players always want to win any games they are taking part in. They have pride and win bonuses to play for and Hearts are a very tough team to crack as you can see by the fact their defensive record is as good as ours."

Calderwood's tactics at Aberdeen have been much more pragmatic than the gung-ho reputation he encouraged during four seasons of sustained success at Dunfermline but you get the feeling it will be a return to the days of two at the back tomorrow.

Despite that, the manager knows the failure to win by a greater margin at Easter Road last weekend leaves Hibs in command, even if he is relishing the occasion, and added: "The bugles will be out and it will be interesting if we get an early goal which would fire the crowd up.

"We have had a great season and want to finish it off in style. It would be absolutely magnificent if we overturned a six-goal deficit but I'd much rather be in Tony Mowbray's position."

The fact that Noel Whelan, Ricky Foster and skipper Russell Anderson are all out injured while Michael Hart is struggling with a hamstring strain will not make it any easier but Kevin McNaughton is fit to return from injury to help in the goal chase.

Taken from the Scotsman