Shields insists he plays fair

HIBS youngster Jay Shields has defended his combative style, accusing Paul Hartley of sour grapes following Hearts' derby defeat last Saturday.

The pint-sized defender picked up the sponsors' man-of-the-match award in the 2-1 victory at Easter Road, with his crunching tackle on Scotland player Hartley in the first half leading to Derek Riordan's opening goal.

Shields, who has still not been told if he will be offered fresh terms with the Leith club when his current deal expires next month, was also accused of being overzealous in a challenge with Bruno Aguiar.

In the aftermath of the fierce Edinburgh derby, Hartley suggested the Hibs youngster was lucky not to see red, claiming he was the victim of a two-footed challenge.

However, Shields, who could keep his place in the side for today's trip to Aberdeen, insists he has been unfairly branded a dirty player. "I obviously do go in hard, but I go in fair," he said.

"There is nothing dirty about my play at all, I just go in and try to win the ball.

"I was a wee bit disappointed by Paul's comments. It showed you on the highlights that I slid in with one foot so there was nothing wrong with it. It was probably just sour grapes.

"I also won the ball in the second tackle on Aguiar. In the four games I've played this season I have not been booked. I think the time I was at Berwick on loan I got booked in nearly every game but I was playing centre midfield as well.

"It was more of a battle in that league and everyone gets booked. I'm hard but fair, the fans like to see you get stuck in. If someone does it to me I'm just happy to get on with it."

Taken from the Scotsman