Riordan says he wants to stay at Hibs

Derek Riordan today delivered the news every Hibs fan has been waiting to hear - I want to stay at Easter Road.

The club's leading scorer revealed he's already had tentative talks with boss Colin Calderwood as to what happens when his current contract expires at the end of the season.

As it stands at present, the 28-year-old is free to talk to other clubs about his future with some surprised he hadn't actually moved during the January transfer window with Rangers, Burnley and Turkish side Eskisehirspor all said to be poised to swoop.

Speculation Riordan's days as a Hibs star were coming to an end was heightened when Calderwood revealed he was prepared to wait until the end of the season before entering into a meaningful discussion with the player, and again when the Scotland hitman sat out Sunday's SPL clash with Dundee United just 24 hours before the transfer deadline.

However, Riordan returned to action as Hibs claimed an invaluable victory over St Mirren, opening the scoring with his ninth goal of the season before David Wotherspoon clinched the points, hammering home a last-gasp second.

And today Riordan revealed Easter Road is exactly where he wants to be. Whether or not negotiations can proceed to a successful conclusion remain to be seen but, for his part, the player insisted he's open to finishing his career at the club he's supported all his life.

He said: "I am happy at Hibs, I enjoy it. I am from Edinburgh, I support Hibs so it's good for me."

Asked if there was any chance of him staying beyond the end of this season, Riordan, currently in his second spell with the club following his ill-fated move to Celtic, replied: "Hopefully. I want to stay at Hibs for my career.

"But that will need to happen at the end of the season. I've had a wee talk with the manager, I think everyone has but we will face it later on."

As he pushed all talk of his future to the back of his mind, Riordan admitted that for the meantime he was happy just to dwell on Hibs finally ending their barren run, admitting he hadn't found his football much fun in recent weeks.

He said: "It's not nice playing every week and being beaten so I think everyone was relieved to beat St Mirren.

"I'm glad for the gaffer, he has gone through a tough time since he has come in but now he has brought in a few of the players he wanted and he's got that victory so obviously it has worked a bit.

"I've felt for the boss, I've felt quite sorry for him. Obviously you want to do well for him because he is such a brilliant guy, one of the nicest managers I have had.

"Everyone gets on really well with him so I was really happy for him."

While Riordan agreed the importance of the win over St Mirren - one which saw Hibs leapfrog the Buddies and once again open up a five-point gap on basement outfit Hamilton - couldn't be underestimated, he insisted all attention must now focus on the visit of Kilmarnock a week on Saturday.

He said: "With the run we have been on we are definitely down there so we have to get points on the board. It's important we carry it on to Killie. They have a decent side this season although with big Conor Sammon away they won't be as deadly as they were."

But that's exactly what Riordan hopes he'll prove to be having ended not just Hibs' goals drought - his strike against Saints their first in 693 minutes of action - but his own.

Already with more than a century of goals for Hibs to his name, he said: "We knew St Mirren was a big game for us. We are at the bottom end of the table and that's pushed us up a bit which gives you confidence going into the next game.

"Ten or 11 hours without scoring a goal is a long time but now we've got the first you hope the rest will flood in.

"As a striker you have to be confident of scoring. I am the top scorer and if a chance falls to me then I have to try to take it. But I don't think we have been creating too many chances this season."

However, Riordan feels the signings made by Calderwood over the past couple of weeks have already shown they can make an impact at Easter Road, new striker 6ft 2in Akpo Sodje helping create his goal while midfielders Victor Palsson and Matt Thornhill have caught the eye along with on-loan Celtic youngster Richie Towell.

He said: "I think we've lacked a wee bit of presence in midfield, we've been quite a small team. Victor, Matty and big Akpo helped. Obviously Akpo flicked the ball on and I scored from it, he helped me, definitely.

"Akpo is a handful but, to be fair, when you stand next to him he does not seem like a big, massive guy. But he is brilliant in the air, strong and, I thought, a real pest."

Having been replaced by Danny Galbraith, Riordan admitted he and the others sitting on the home bench endured a few nervous minutes until Wotherspoon hammered home only his second goal for Hibs - his first, coincidentally, having come against St Mirren on his debut some 18 months ago.

He said: "It was a case of hanging on for the time left but when 'D' scored it killed the game.

"The important thing is picking up the points, something we have to do, especially against St Mirren, Hamilton and the teams round about us."