Adams reveals high-scoring target man
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
ROSS County are offering former Celtic and Hibernian striker Derek Riordan the chance to resurrect his career in Dingwall.
Manager Derek Adams is in talks with the former Scotland international and his agent but recognises wages could prove a stumbling block to any deal.
Despite his status as the third highest SPL goalscorer of all time — behind only Henrik Larsson and Kris Boyd — Riordan’s career has hit the buffers in recent years amid troubles in his private life.
The County boss, though, would have no qualms about taking the striker north and handing him a fresh start back in the SPL.
Adams said yesterday: "We are interested in Derek Riordan and have spoken both to his agent and to him.
"I don’t think we can afford him in terms of wages. He would have to come here with a desire to play and get himself back in the shop window. He would probably need to take a sacrifice wage-wise to come here.
"But we’re not that far down the line. I think it would be a great platform for the player himself, as well as a very good signing for us. We can only talk. It’s not something we have totally ruled out.
"Derek is certainly a player I think would benefit us. He’s a quality player and third top scorer in SPL history says a great deal about him."
The 29-year-old’s last of three Scotland caps came in 2009 but, since then, his career has been blighted by disciplinary troubles including alleged nightclub disturbances in Edinburgh.
After a prolific breakthrough with childhoood club Hibs, Riordan won a move to Celtic in 2006 under Gordan Strachan. He then returned to Hibs after three years having failed to gain a foothold in the Parkhead first team.
Again, the goals flowed at Easter Road for the talented attacker but he left last year after being offered a reduced deal to remain at the club.
Since then, it has been an unsettled time for Riordan with trials at English clubs including Blackpool and MK Dons and an ill-fated and brief, if lucrative, spell in China with top side Shaanxi Chan-Ba.
After teminating his deal with the Chinese outfit by mutual consent after a fall-out with the head coach, Riordan returned to Scotland with St Johnstone but played only four times.
He remains a free agent with only two weeks left until the transfer window closes.
Adams has been persistant in his pursuit of Riordan, having first made an approach early this year after his China stint ended.
The County boss stressed: "Derek is not up here at Ross County – he has had trials in England.
"But he’s someone I have been interested in in the past and who I tried to get last season when he was coming back from China.
"He has other options, but he is a player who, if I was able to, I would certainly take. There has been dialogue and I’ve spoken to the player and his agent.
"We can only try to take in the best players we possibly can, and we have done that already. We can only try our best."
See a full preview of this weekend's Celtic match and more from the County camp in this week's Ross-shire Journal
