Collins cools on Austrian strike ace Kozelsky

JOHN COLLINS today confirmed he has had Arno Kozelsky watched but the Hibs boss is unlikely to pursue his interest in the Austrian striker.

The DSV Leoben frontman has been attracting attention from across Europe after netting 15 goals in 29 games and the Austrian club have accepted that the player will move on in the summer.

The 25-year-old is joint-top scorer in the Austrian second division and is also believed to have been watched by at least one other SPL club.

The Easter Road side have already signed Motherwell midfielder Brian Kerr and York City striker Clayton Donaldson on a pre-contract deal but, with Chris Killen heading out of Easter Road in the summer after refusing a new deal, Collins is looking to bolster his attacking options.

He has already signed another Austrian, 16-year-old Elias Wagner, however, after taking a closer look at the Kozelsky, it is understood Collins will not make a move for the player.

The Easter Road boss said: "We've identified the areas we want to strengthen and we have already started work on bringing players in, that's what the summer is all about for us. We have watched Arno Kozelsky but he is just one of a number of players that we are looking at."

Collins is keen to bring in new faces, although it remains unclear as to how much of the 6million the club raked in from the sale of Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown, will be made available to him.

He already knows that he will be without winger Ivan Sproule for the first four games of the new season, which gets underway at the beginning of August. The Northern Irishman was booked in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Celtic, his sixth caution of the campaign which take him onto 18 points.

Meanwhile, Collins revealed today that Hibs will head to Austria for pre-season training. The players will report back at Easter Road on June 28 before flying out to Austria on July 1. He added: "It's been a long season for the boys. We had them in yesterday for their schedules and weigh-outs and they'll have a couple of weeks off now. They thoroughly deserve their break."

Elsewhere, Queen of the South have been fined 20,000 by the SFA for playing an ineligible player in two Tennent's Scottish Cup ties this season, one of then against Hibs.

The club fielded Jamie Adams firstly against Cowdenbeath in the fourth round and then against Hibs in the quarter-finals.

However, the player was not eligible as he had previously been listed as a substitute for a third-round tie by Kilmarnock before joining Queens.

Hibs won the meeting of the teams at Palmerston Park at the end of February 2-1.