Paatelainen not afraid of putting Hibs stars on the bench

Published on Friday 9 January 2009 08:49

HIBS boss Mixu Paatelainen today admitted he's wrestling with a string of tough decisions as he seeks the goals to send Capital rivals Hearts spinning out of the Homecoming Scottish Cup.

But the Finn insisted he won't shirk his responsibility regardless of how unhappy some of his stars will be on learning they haven't made his starting line-up for Sunday.

Paatelainen pulled off a few surprises before last weekend's no-scoring draw between Edinburgh's big two, leaving Dean Shiels, scorer of two goals the previous week, and striker Colin Nish on the bench while Steven Thicot deputised for the injured Rob Jones.

However, his preferred strikeforce that day of Steven Fletcher and Derek Riordan drew a blank and, with skipper Jones winning his battle to shake off a hamstring injury, Paatelainen now faces a dilemma as he chooses his eleven to face the Jambos.

He said: "You are always thinking before games, the form of your players, the various combinations and of the opponents.

"Last weekend I felt Steven and Derek would produce goals, unfortunately that wasn't to be. It's always a difficult decision when I have to leave out someone like Colin or Dean, who had scored those two goals.

"It's a problem I face before every match, I have hungry players who want to play every game but unfortunately I can only field 11. I normally have a squad of 21 or 22 for each game and you can see from their faces the players who have been told they'll be on the bench are unhappy and those who know they will be sitting in the stand are massively disappointed."

Paatelainen knows the disappointment of being left out will be

felt even more keenly given the importance of Sunday's match for both clubs but he insisted: "I cannot shirk my responsibilities, first and foremost I am responsible for fielding a team which I believe is capable of winning any particular game."

If Jones proves his fitness it would seem certain he'd take his place at the centre of defence alongside Chris Hogg, leaving Steven Thicot to drop out although the French youngster has been impressive on occasion alongside Sol Bamba in midfield.

But Lewis Stevenson stepped into that area, making his first appearance in two months, and impressed while up front Nish is desperate to be part of a two-man strikeforce.

While admitting he has a lot of thinking to do over the next 48 hours, Paatelainen insisted he'll be up-front with his players. He said: "There's always reasons and if a player is unhappy at being left out he can always come and see me, I've told them my door is always open for discussion. I can, and I will, explain and give an honest answer. I like to think I am a fair manager, I give them my logic. I know sometimes a question might be raised if someone has played well and is then left out but that can be purely because of tactical reasons.

"No player is bigger than the team and the object is to win the next football match."