TOO OFTEN THIS season we have been treated to the po-faced Paatelainen, the morose Mixu. Granted, the form of his team can't have helped the Finn relax into his role as Hibernian manager.
And even if an "objective" was achieved through the club making the top six in his first full season, the play that earned it lacked the personality demanded by the club's followers – who seemed to find that only in their double-winning under-19s s
ide. Paatelainen is acutely aware of that.
It is maybe why he has found it necessary to smother his own engaging character when performing his duties. Blessed be then for a derby that cannot have serious implications for the club's season. For Hibs' hosting by Hearts on Thursday seemed to prompt the puckish Paatelainen to re-emerge last week.
Maybe there is something about capital confrontations that reconnect the serious coach with the big galloot who somersaulted across the pitch when he bagged a hat-trick in a 6-2 derby win nine years ago... a feat and a frolic that ensures him some gash comments from the good folk of Gorgie. "I did and still do," Paatelainen said when told he used to enjoy bantering with the crowd. "It's just that because of my limited capacity, I need to concentrate fully on the pitch," he joked.
It doesn't bother him, meanwhile, if the perma-ragers seated around the away technical area at Tynecastle concentrate on giving him a hard time. "You don't hear too much because of the noise," said Paatelainen, who will have more to worry about with team selection after Chris Hogg's red card against Dundee United yesterday means he has joined Rob Jones, Sol Bamba and Colin Nish in the club's banned list for the encounter. "It isn't as if you have to go there and wear a helmet. You don't hear individual shouts. The rare times there is a quiet moment someone might use that to get the stick in. If they do, no problem. If you go and retrieve the ball and go close to supporters, you certainly feel they don't like you."
Paatelainen certainly gives every impression that he has a liking for his eccentric Hearts counterpart Csaba Laszlo. And in particular he seems to have become dazzled by the Hungarian's hoofing that features among his array of touchline histrionics.
"You see those brown shoes whizzing about beside you...," the Hibs manager said of Laszlo's leaping. "As we all do, he wants the best for his team, and when that's the case it is difficult to sit still, stay calm and bite your lip. So it is quite natural when the brown shoes are making moves."
Moves have been made to declare the PFA Scotland's manager of the year poll a farce since Laszlo failed to feature on the three-man shortlist filled by Gordon Strachan, Billy Reid and Derek McInnes. Paatelainen gushes about the "absolutely fantastic job" done by the Hungarian who has guided his side to third place in the SPL. "Everybody should congratulate Csaba when you look at where Hearts are now and where they were last season," he said. "They have fantastic individuals, very strong players who dominate and have invested heavily and are getting the price."
The Hibs manager does not endorse Laszlo's claim for the honour of leading manager, however. A subject initially skirted around – "I should not answer who got my vote, because its done in confidence," he said – he gave enough away to reveal himself as very much a member of the Roy Keane school in believing successful managers are those who win trophies.
"Is it that obvious?" he said. "I have played against him but never met him. I don't have the beard, either. I think whoever wins the title should be manager of the year but voting is done so early so it's quite difficult. There are many names you could put in the hat. Billy Reid, without splashing out, had a young team challenging for the top six before a horrendous spell, and they are still up there with every chance of staying in the league. You might say no one has a chance of winning the league except Rangers and Celtic, but they have their pressures as well. You can see how the other teams are capable of beating them, so if they win the title, they have done the best job."
Paatelainen has a job to do to convince a section of the Easter Road support he is the best man to take their team forward. He's not daft or dizzy, he knows another season like the one coming to a close won't be tolerated by those who pay his wages or pay for season tickets.
"We need to improve and there is no thinking things are better than they are," he says. "We must be realistic. So many people say we have been consistently bad, but we have almost always been in sixth. There have been two big swings across games. One day we play really well and pass the ball the way we should all the time. The next day we can be really poor, so we've plenty to improve and must improve."
Improvement can come from within, with Paatelainen hoping to give members of his victorious under-19s – seven of whom have been awarded professional contracts – "debuts very soon". "If there is one club that gives youngsters a chance, it is Hibs," the Easter Road manager says.
In the past decade the Leith club have become better at giving managers a chance than they were previously. Having been allowed to come through a difficult season without pressure being applied from within to become a better manager, Paatelainen must take the opportunity to become a better manager. A coach comfortable being himself. A Finn who doesn't leave out the funnies.
