'No deal' on new Riordan contract say Hibs

TONY Mowbray has ruled out any hope of Derek Riordan signing a new deal at Hibs after confirming that the Easter Road club will not increase their contract offer to the striker.

The Hibs manager yesterday firmly stated that a new contract offer to the striker "would not happen", thus leaving the ball in the court of Riordan and his advisors as he prepares to enter the final six months of his present deal at Easter Road. From the end of April he will be permitted to sign a pre-contract deal with another club, and the likelihood of this happening appears to have grown after the resolute stance adopted by Mowbray yesterday.

The manager doused the hopes of fans who had been alerted to Riordan's assertion on Tuesday that he wanted to play for Hibs in Europe next season.

While this may still happen, with Riordan not out of contract until October, the prospect of the striker hanging around longer than late autumn appears to have been eliminated by Mowbray, who yesterday declared talks to be at a stand-still.

"Derek's advisors know there is an offer on the table but they are not signing it," said the manager, who had been motivated to speak out after Riordan spoke of his attachment to the Easter Road club at a press conference earlier this week.

"It [a new deal] is not going to happen."

Riordan's agent Jim McArthur declined to comment yesterday when made aware of Mowbray's comments, and with Hibs' present contract offer a non-negotiable one it seems certain that the striker will move on from Hibs at the end of his current deal, if not before.

Hibs have already accepted a £1 million offer from Cardiff City for the player, but Riordan rejected the opportunity to sign for the Ninian Park club. A proposed move to Russia also broke down due to Riordan's reluctance to move to the country.

Since his contract expires in October the Easter Road club could look for a nominal fee this summer, or Mowbray might simply utilise Riordan in the time the player has left as he runs down his contract.

Chief executive Rod Petrie has already stated that Riordan has informed the club he does want to sign another contract on the terms offered, and it appears nothing has changed since then.

Tuesday's comments from Riordan might have briefly lifted the spirits of those Hibs fans desperate to see the leading goalscorer stay on at the club he supports. However, his words didn't convince Mowbray that he was set to retain the services of a prize asset for longer than already anticipated.

"I'm not really interested in what Derek says publicly," said Mowbray. "It's when Derek comes in and speaks to the club with his advisors that matters. I can only go by what his advisors are telling me and I don't think what he has said changes anything."

Meanwhile, across the city, Hearts defender Jose Goncalves has admitted that he hopes his stay at Tynecastle will serve as a stepping stone to further his career ambitions.

The 21-year-old Portuguese, who has impressed since his January move from Swiss club FC Thun, said: "The reason I opted to play for a Scottish club is that I am still young. I chose Hearts as I wanted to be able to progress calmly.

"I still want to progress a great deal further - I'm only at the outset of my career.

"For me, Scotland is just a staging post. I have much bigger ambitions."

His strong defensive partnership with Steven Pressley has helped Hearts to the Tennent's Scottish Cup final and to the brink of a Champions League place for next season.

He added: "We are all putting in maximum effort to secure second place and guarantee qualification for the Champions League.

"We have to win the Cup. Hearts haven't played a final for a long time, and it will be a difficult match in spite of playing against a team from the third tier.

"But we have to win to give this joy to our supporters."

Taken from the Scotsman