Every man has a line he just won’t cross. And for St Johnstone striker Derek Riordan that line would be rooting for Hearts to beat Hibs in the Scottish Cup final.
A born and bred Hibee who has starred in two spells for the Easter Road club and is among their top goalscorers of all time, Riordan has admitted he couldn’t summon up the desire to support their bitter Edinburgh rivals when the two sides clash at Hampden later this month.
That’s why the Perth attacker has more reason than most to try to ensure Saints don’t finish sixth in the SPL and need a Hearts cup victory to secure their passage into the Europa League qualifiers.
They currently enjoy a slender one-point lead over the Tynecastle club and any points gained at Celtic Park tonight would be a big boost ahead of the clash with Hearts on Sunday.
Riordan, who is on a short-term contract at McDiarmid Park and has started their last two matches, said: ”I couldn’t cheer on Hearts I don’t think my family would forgive me!
”We want to do well for ourselves and not have to rely on other clubs, especially Hearts.
”I wouldn’t want Hearts to win the cup final, I’ve got to be honest. I certainly don’t want it to come to that. We want to get into Europe before then.
”I’ve not spoken to the club about next season. I just want to do well until the end of the season, get some games under my belt, and see what happens after that.”
In between stints at Hibs, Riordan was a Celtic player. The former Scotland man didn’t become the first-team regular he had hoped to be, but he looks back on his time at Parkhead with fondness nonetheless.
He pointed out: ”It will be good to go back to Celtic Park. It’s a fantastic stadium and the supporters are great. They were really good to me when I played there and these are the sort of games you want to play in.
”I enjoyed being a Celtic player. There aren’t many bigger clubs. Everywhere we went all over the world they had a fan base.
”The only disappointment was not playing as much as I would have liked. That happens in football. Different managers have different thoughts.
”People still ask me if I enjoyed it, and I did. I’ve no regrets. I shook a few hands when I went back with St Johnstone just after I joined. I maybe wasn’t ready to play that day but I definitely want to take part this time.”
Riordan believes his sharpness is returning and the next step is getting back on the goal trail.
He said: ”It’s a good group here. The gaffer, Tommy (Wright) and the boys have made it a really enjoyable time. I’ve been training for a wee while and obviously it was match fitness and game time I was lacking. I’ve had a few games now so it’s getting better.
”I’ve got my chance in the last two games after Chris (Millar) got injured in the warm-up against United and when Cillian (Sheridan) phoned in sick before the Motherwell match.
”I just want to score goals. If you offered me man of the match or a goal, I’d take the goal. Hopefully I can get my first and others will follow.”
Saints are looking to bounce back from two losses in a row.
”The games are coming thick and fast and they aren’t getting any easier Celtic at Parkhead,” Riordan said. ”I watched the Old Firm match and Celtic were very good.
“I don’t know if Neil Lennon will bring in a few young players now they’ve won the league. It doesn’t matter really. They’ve got such a massive squad.”
Millar and Sheridan may be available but Dave Mackay and Callum Davidson are likely to miss out again.
Boss Steve Lomas said: ”We will have to wait to the last minute to name our team. We are a little bit in the dark.”