Mixu applied Hibs' fine Finnish

DEAN SHIELS today insisted Hibs' victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie was as much down to boss Mixu Paatelainen's courage as Derek Riordan's two goals.

With the match delicately poised at 1-1 and only 16 minutes to go, Paatelainen resisted the temptation to shut up shop and hang on for a point as he introduced the attack-minded Shiels into the action in place of defensive midfielder Steven Thicot.

And his decision paid dividends, Shiels initiating the move which ended with a controversial penalty award as Aberdeen's Charlie Mulgrew handled a flick from Steven Fletcher who was, admittedly, well offside.

Riordan's spot-kick gave the Easter Road outfit their first win in the Granite City in three years, allowing them to leapfrog Capital rivals Hearts into fourth place in the SPL table.

Paatelainen, who had made his intentions clear from the outset by starting Riordan, Steven Fletcher and Colin Nish together for the first time in a three-pronged attack, sang the praises of Shiels, claiming the Northern Ireland internationalist had changed the game.

But Shiels was adamant his manager deserved just as much credit saying: "His substitution was brave, swapping a defensive midfielder for an attacking one.

"I think seeing me coming on rather than another defensive player made the boys think 'hold on, we can win this'.

"At that stage the game could have gone either way and some might have decided to dig in and take a point which would have been an okay result as Pittodrie is always a hard place to go.

"But, with the players we have, we are more than capable of going to these places and winning and I was delighted with the manager's belief in us that we could go on and win as we did."

Paatelainen revealed he had swithered for ten minutes as to which player Shiels would replace as he discussed the topic at length with his assistant Donald Park. And, although Steven Thicot limped off, he insisted he had already made up his mind before the French star, playing his first SPL game since the opening day of the season, was hit by cramp.

The Easter Road boss said: "I wanted to really have a go and win the game and felt if we took off a defensive midfielder and put on an offensive player the balance of the game would change.

"I'd been talking to Donald as to which player should come off, we had many options to contemplate but I felt 'let's be brave and go for it'.

"I didn't think a point away to Aberdeen would have been a bad result but you saw from the starting line-up and the formation (4-3-3], we really went there to win. I wanted to be very positive and changing that never crossed my mind.

"It was a pre-planned move even although Steven had a touch of cramp. He'd have been able to go back on but I felt that was a good time to make the change."

Shiels, however, was unaware of the soul-searching of Paatelainen and Park as he prepared to take to the field. He said: "They never discussed with me who was coming off.

"I was simply told to get out there, get on the ball, try to create and, hopefully, I played my part."

Having played in every match since the start of the season Shiels found himself the victim of Paatelainen's decision to play Riordan, Fletcher and Nish as he was relegated to the bench.

Shiels, however, insisted he had no complaint, claiming the Hibee strikeforce was as good, if not better, than any in Scotland. He said: "No-one likes to be on the bench but it is a long season and it is a case of horses for courses.

"I was delighted he brought me on to try to get a goal and I was happy to have done my bit as I have every faith in the manager, he knows what he is doing."

And Shiels also believes finding himself a substitute was simply another indication of the strength of squad assembled by Paatelainen with the likes of Steve Pinau and Fabian Yantorno – both of whom were also on the bench at Pittodrie – Alan O'Brien and Filipe Morais all desperate to get a regular game.

He said: "Like myself they are all attack-minded players. We have a big squad but the manager has brought in quality rather than quantity.

"In Deek, Fletch and Colin we have quality attacking players. I don't think that, outwith Rangers and Celtic, any side in the SPL can touch those three, they don't even come close.

"I'm biased, of course, but we are spoiled for choice."

Hibs win at Pittodrie also marked the first occasion in three years that the Easter Road side have managed back-to-back away wins in the league, the Edinburgh club having notched up just four SPL victories "on the road" last season.

Shiels admitted he was at a loss to explain such poor form but insisted Paatelainen's squad was well equipped to change that miserable record. "I think we are well organised and we know we are capable, as we have shown in the past, of going to places like Ibrox and Parkhead and winning," he said. "I know things were looking poor pre-season but we have a great spirit within the camp, we have the lads pulling together as a team and that's what you need to win away from home."

Now Shiels will turn his attention to international duty, with Northern Ireland facing Slovenia in Maribor on Saturday before taking on European minnows San Marino in Belfast the following Wednesday – vital World Cup qualifying matches for Nigel Worthington's side after they picked up just one point from their opening two games against Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The former Arsenal kid, who now boasts seven full caps, said: "I've been in every squad since the start of the season, which has been great news for me and, hopefully, that will continue.

"Winning at Aberdeen was the perfect way to break off for the international matches. Hopefully I can now go on and help my country get the results we want from these two games."