TO PARAPHRASE PG Wodehouse, it is never difficult to distinguish between a Scottish football manager delivering bad news and a ray of sunshine. Yet Mixu Paatelainen of Hibs looked genuinely in pain last week.
The big Finn is normally impassive, at least in media interviews, but there was just the slightest hint of dejection in his slumped shoulders as he broke the news which will enrage those Easter Road supporters longing for the return of glory days to
Leith.
Money to strengthen the squad, it seems, will only arrive if Hibs sell one or more of their star players. Even if the sale of newly-crowned Young Player of the Year Steven Fletcher takes place, there's no guarantee of a cash boost for the squad pot.
"There will be a cut in the budget," said Paatelainen. "It is because of the overall financial climate. The revenue for the club is difficult and obviously the books have to be balanced."
Asked if he would get money to buy a player only after selling a player or players, Paatelainen said: "Possibly, yes."
On the brighter side, cuts elsewhere will free up players for Paatelainen to sign, and he openly stated he is looking for free transfers and already has his targets: "There's going to be loads of players available this summer, because of the financial climate, so there are opportunities there and hopefully we will be successful."
That budget cut may be depressing him now, but Paatelainen will deal with it, just as he will deal with other playing problems at Easter Road, one of which has been a glaring inability of the side to keep doing their best stuff week after week.
The most irritating thing about the past season for the manager and the supporters has been the inconsistency of Hibs, which Paatelainen acknowledged: "Every team plays poor matches, there is no question about that, but we have played some fantastic games as well. I must say that at times we have been a bit too up and down in terms of the standard of our play, and really it's all about the passing side of the game.
"We can pass the ball well, but the players need to stay calm, they need to stay focused and not rush passes. Whenever that is in place, when we take our time and concentrate, that is when we pass the ball well and play some fantastic stuff."
Paatelainen pointed out that "stupid mistakes" had cost victories, and had one or two bits of luck gone for Hibs rather than against them, the club would have been challenging for a place in Europe. But overall it was a lack of consistency which damaged that aspiration: "If we had been just a bit more consistent then we would have been up there. You're talking about a six-point gap at the moment, which is just two wins."
One consistent theme about Hibs has been the comparative youth of the set-up, with no less than seven of the highly successful Hibs' under-19 team being promoted into the first-team squad. The manager said: "They have shown how well they can do and pre-season and early next season will realise whether they can break into the team."
A big part has been played by the club's new training facilities – "we don't have to look for a free roundabout any more," joked the manager – which assist a youth coaching system that is producing a conveyor belt of young talent, dubbed the Leithal Lads.
By mixing the Lads with seasoned professionals such as Rob Jones, Paatelainen is building a squad which has shown in recent days that it can go up against any side in the SPL.
The late-season performances of young players in particular have been a sign to the manager of a growing maturity within the club.
"It's been a long season for the players and they have got a lot of matches under their belts," said Paatelainen. "Through that they have gained more experience, and they have improved, no doubt, though we have plenty to improve on."
But with that budget cut, can the manager keep the ingredients he needs to develop the side still further?
"I want to have continuity and keep the players who are a big part of our team, but it doesn't always go like that because of the dictates of the finances.
"I want to improve the squad, I want to improve the existing players and I think that's happening. We now have the nucleus of a squad which, because of their ages, will keep improving over the next couple of years or so.
"There's plenty speculation over Derek Riordan and Steve Fletcher and others. We'll see whether they stay here beyond the summer, but hopefully they will be here because they are quality players who can decide matches for you, and they also work very hard."
The likelihood for Hibs is that Fletcher at least will leave and the club will bank a tidy sum. Some pundits reckon he is worth £5 million or more, but in these straitened times a sum of around £3m would be a goodish return on Hibs' investment in the 22-year-old Scottish internationalist.
As they prepare to face Celtic today in a match which will see every Hibs player give their all as they place themselves in the shop window – "every time you start you are playing for your career," said the manager – the question for chairman Rod Petrie and the board is how much of that cash they will keep in the piggy bank against a rainy day, and how much they will turn over to the manager.
Money permitting, and with more Leithal Lads to come, Easter Road could yet see a heady brew from Mixu's mixture of youth and experience.
The full article contains 990 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
