Collins hopes to sign new keeper within days

Collins declined to disclose the identity of his targets other than to say they were just what he was looking for - "someone who has a height and presence and is excellent with cross balls".

To that end, Chelsea reserve goalkeeper Yves Makaba Makalamby fits that description, while Collins has been constantly linked with a move for Dunfermline goalkeeper Dorus De Vries who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Makalamby was at Easter Road earlier in the season but the 6ft 6in Belgian youth international's trial period was cut short by a crisis at Stamford Bridge when Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini were both injured, leaving Blues boss Jose Morinho with only Hilario.

Signed from PSV Eindhoven, the 21-year-old has 12 months remaining on his contract with Chelsea but while he has become a regular in the London outfit's reserve side, Collins has kept a close eye on him in the intervening period.

Dutch star De Vries has had an impressive first season in the SPL despite the Pars being relegated and while Dunfermline boss Stephen Kenny is keen to retain his services, the prospect of continuing to play at the top level would be appealing.

Collins admitted after seeing Derek Riordan fire Celtic into the lead from a narrow angle in yesterday's final match of the season that his side needed to eliminate the soft goals they've conceded on too many occasions over the past few months.

And, with Simon Brown having been told his contract won't be renewed and Zibi Malkowski allowed to spend the second half of the season on loan to SPL-bound Gretna, Collins is determined to bring in a new goalkeeper, a move which would most probably see 20-year-old Andy McNeil return to his role as understudy.

Having made a monumental error in the derby against Hearts the previous weekend, Collins believed McNeil was again to blame, saying: "I think you probably have to put it down to a goalkeeping mistake.

"If you ask him a goalkeeper should not be beaten at his near post. It was a poor goal, a long ball up the park which we should have dealt with.

"We want to go forward and make progress next season but we have to eliminate the soft goals."

Part of Collins' plan to do so is to have a new goalkeeper in place for pre-season, the Hibs boss saying: "We are very close, it's between two and we'd hope to have it done in the next couple of days.

"What we are looking for, someone with height, a presence and is excellent with cross balls. That is my No 1 priority."

It's safe to say, however, that Collins new signing won't come from the team of trialists who descended on Edinburgh last week, the Hibs manager vehemently denying it was he who had brought them in.

He said: "They were not my trialists. There's been a bit of a misunderstanding, an agent brought them over to let people have a look at them and we simply let them use our facilities.

"I wasn't even at the match they played."