Double delight for Mowbray ahead of capital showdown

Mowbray proved immovable on both issues. He learnt of the SFA’s climbdown over a six-game suspension it had handed out to him, before going to training where he told 22-year-old Riordan that a £250,000 move to Germany was not going to happen.

The Hibernian manager believes that the Scotland forward, whose contract expires in October, will prove far more valuable over the next nine months than any of the fees now being offered for him. Riordan is also wanted by Nuremberg. However, instead of heading to the Bundesliga before the transfer window closes, Riordan will take his place in a derby occasion that he relishes, scoring in Hibernian’s 2-0 success in October at Easter Road.

However, Mowbray’s own presence will be equally beneficial in the vital encounter between the second and third-placed sides in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague. The manager turned to a lawyer to overturn his punitive suspension for being sent to the stand by a referee after the recent match with Motherwell, but it was Mowbray’s own stubborn resistance not to blindly accept the ban handed down by the SFA that proved pivotal.

He has already served a two-game suspension and was due to incur another four matches, which is automatic for being reported twice in one fixture.

“I was slightly surprised when the letter dropped on my desk but of course I’m pleased,” Mowbray said. “I want to be with my team on the touchline rather than sit in the stand. I think I know the reasons but maybe the SFA should explain them.

“Common sense prevailed. We had a lawyer look at the way it all panned out and I don’t think they realised that two incidents could happen at the same time in the same game. Their criteria had not allowed for that so when I was due to have my four-match ban I was still serving my two-match ban and they overlapped. So, on a technicality, they decided to forget about it. They will probably rewrite the rules now.

“However, I don’t see myself as a rebel. I just want to be a manager. I don’t want to be painted as a character who fights wars. I’d like to just draw a line under it and move on.”

The same principles are at work in refusing the bid for Riordan. Mowbray, like Gordon Strachan with Stilian Petrov at Celtic, feels that there comes a time when money cannot compensate for the loss of a key player and would prefer to let the clock tick down on his contract and lose him as a free agent than be forced to take a derisory offer.

“That’s the era we are in,” Mowbray said. “We would love Derek to sign an extended deal and we’ve talked through many different options of things that might entice him to stay but we’re not getting anywhere. Whatever money we get for Derek, we are now past the stage where we can go out and buy another one so I’d rather have his goals on the pitch.”

Riordan, who scored 23 times last season, turned down a £300,000 move to Cardiff City at the start of the season and is also on the radar of Anderlecht, the champions of Belgium.

“Managers do not want to sell players,” Mowbray said. “Everyone has their valuation, even Thierry Henry. When someone makes a bid, you have to weigh that up against what the player brings to your football club. This offer from Kaiserslautern didn’t match our estimation of what Derek brings to our team.

“His two goals last weekend contributed to us winning the game so we will see if he can do the same this week and next week, and finish the season with a great goal tally. I know I run the risk of losing him for nothing. I would hopefully go and find a wee gem from somewhere who is hungry enough to come and score goals and make a name for himself.”

Such a description might fit Chris Killin. The New Zealand international joined yesterday as a free agent from Oldham Athletic, signing an 18-month contract. Killin cost the Coca-Cola League One club £250,000 from Manchester City in 2002 and was top scorer last season with 15 goals. He will go into the squad for tomorrow’s derby.

“We wanted to buy him last year but then he hit a purple patch and we thought we would be unable to afford him,” Mowbray explained. “However, he has drifted out of the picture at Oldham this season and we have got him for free. I know the talent to score goals is there if I create the right environment to bring it out.”

Killin cited problems with Ronnie Moore, Oldham’s manager. “I had a fallout with the manager, who put me in the reserves. When you are being pushed out of the picture, it is time for a fresh start and it is great to join a big club like Hibernian.”

Sadly, for Hearts supporters, Mirsad Beslija seems unlikely to make the move to Edinburgh. The Serbia and Montenegro midfield player is ready to kill off his much-delayed £850,000 transfer from Racing Genk and remain with the Belgian club.

Beslija met with Hugo Broos, the Genk manager, on Wednesday and the player’s agent, Mark Talbot, is not optimistic. “I spoke with Genk and they have not heard anything from Hearts so it looks like it’s not going ahead,” Talbot said. “The club are almost resigned to that being the case.

“Broos wants to know what is happening. It’s not like Mirsad has fallen out of favour with Hugo, it’s just that his thoughts are not all gathered and focused on Genk. The player now believes his move to Hearts is dead, so both the club and Mirsad want to draw a line under it and move on.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk