'Very difficult to imagine' - Ex-Hearts ace Antti Niemi on link with Hibs

Former Hearts ace Antti Niemi believes Mixu Paatelainen was at the wind-up when he suggested he tried to bring him to Hibs.

By Joel Sked

Published 8th Feb 2021, 12:30 BST

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Former Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen claimed he tried to bring Antti Niemi to Hibs. Picture: SNS

The Finnish goalkeeper retired from the game in September 2008 following injury.

Before he did so, Paatelainen, then manager of Hibs, tried to convince his friend and former Finland colleague Niemi to make the switch to Easter Road.

"I did ask him quite a few times whether he would come here and play for the right club in Edinburgh,” Paatelainen said at the time.

"But he has opted to retire and put his feet up."

Niemi, however, couldn’t remember such discussions.

“I think it was a wind-up,” he said in an interview with CoffeeFriend.co.uk.

"It would have been very difficult to imagine me playing for Hibs after those years at Hearts.”

Niemi, now goalkeeping coach at Finish side HIFK, came out of retirement to sign for Portsmouth in 2009 but didn't make an appearance.

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