Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Mixu tells Fletcher he can still be a Spanish superstar!
MIXU PAATELAINEN last night challenged his young £4 million rated striker Steven Fletcher to be Hibs' answer to Spanish superstar Fernando Torres.
The Easter Road chief encouraged the Scotland new boy to study the top hit men in action during the Euro 2008 finals staged joined in Austria and Switzerland last month.
Liverpool ace Torres turned in a series of magnificent performances during the three week feast of football as the Spaniards were crowned Euro kings.
Now Paatelainen wants Fletcher who was linked with Real Madrid last season to shine brightly as the super stars of Barcelona in tomorrow night's glamour friendly at Murrayfield.
The Hibs boss said: “I always say to my players they should watch the top games and encouraged them to study the Euro finals.
To see how the Spanish strikers and the German strikers play is an education.
"To see how the Spanish strikers and the German strikers play is an education.
“There’s not too many like David Villa but, Fernando Torres drops deep all the time and I think our Fletcher can do very much the same role and, hopefully, he’ll score lots of goals for Hibs this season."
It's been a difficult couple of weeks for Paatelainen and his Hibs side, knocked out of the Intertoto by Swedish side IF Elfsborg Cup without scoring.
Paatelainen is not overly concerned about the situation but is very keen to put on a show against Barca tomorrow night.
He insisted: “We’re very much looking forward to it because it’s a chance to play against one of the great clubs in the world against some of the best players.
"We were very cold when we went into the Intertoto Cup and they were two competitive games but I think we’re in better shape now.