HIBS boss Mixu Paatelainen today admitted he's keen to keep midfield star Dean Shiels at Easter Road – but insisted there was no need to rush into contract talks with the Northern Ireland ace.
Shiels is about to enter the final season of his current deal having established himself as a fans' favourite after becoming one of former manager Tony Mowbray's first signings, arriving as a virtual unknown from Arsenal four years ago.
The 22-yea
r-old looked to be heading for the exit door when he appeared to fall out of favour under Paatelainen's predecessor John Collins with Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood said to be ready to pounce.
But Paatelainen's appointment saw a dramatic turnaround in Shiels' fortunes with seven of his ten goals last season coming after the big Finn's arrival, three of them in his first match as the Easter Road side romped to a 3-0 Scottish Cup win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
While Hibs fans are desperate to see the club tie up Shiels on a new deal, Paatelainen said: "Dean has done really well since I came in, he's scored regularly and has played fantastically well.
"He is a player that I like, there's no question about that and I want to keep our best players. ButDean still has a year left on his contract so there is no rush at the moment."
Meanwhile, Paatelainen has received a first-hand report on InterToto Cup opponents IF Elfsborg having dispatched coach Gareth Evans to watch the Swedish side in cup action against Halmstad BK.
And Evans was treated to a thriller with Elfsborg, who enjoy a 4-1 lead from the first leg of their InterToto tie against HB Torshavn from the Faroe Islands, winning in a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 draw after extra-time.
Elfsborg were trailing until the final minute when Mathias Floren equalised only to fall behind again in extra-time before substitute Elmin Kurbegovic hauled them level for a second time.
Paatelainen wasn't surprised to hear Elfsborg had fielded goalkeeper Johan Wiland, who saved two spot-kicks before his side won 6-4 on penalties, and midfielder Anders Svensson who had both been on Euro 2008 duty with their national side a few days ago.
The Hibs boss said: "It was worthwhile Gareth going as Elfsborg had a strong team out and it was a hard match for them.
"I wasn't surprised to hear both Wiland and Svensson had played despite having been with the Swedish side in the European Championships.
"People here think they have been playing all winter when, in fact, their season started just three months ago although there haven't been league matches in Sweden for the past four weeks because of Euro 2008."
However, in addition to Wednesday night's cup game against Halmstad, Elfsborg, currently second in the Allsvenskan with just one defeat in 11 matches, will return to league action this midweek when they face Djurgardens which will ensure, according to Paatelainen, that they'll be in top condition before arriving in Edinburgh for next Sunday's match.
"They are in a different situation to us but we won't concentrate too much on them. We'll try to make sure we play the right way," he added.
The full article contains 548 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
