FORMER Hibs and Celtic striker Derek Riordan is due to train with Morton at their Parklea training base today, the Tele can exclusively reveal.

The 31-year-old, who won three caps for Scotland between 2005 and 2009, recently expressed an interest in signing for the Ton and indicated he would be willing to play for free.

Current Cappielow frontman Garry O’Connor admitted he would relish the opportunity to link up with his old Easter Road strike partner again and suggested Kenny Shiels had enquired about him.

Ton boss Shiels has remained tight-lipped over any possible move to sign the unattached hitman and would only confirm that Riordan was expected at their Port Glasgow HQ today.

Speaking last night, he told the Tele: “I’m expecting Derek in with us tomorrow.

“It’s still a bit up in the air but he’s due to come in this week.” Meanwhile, in a surprise move Slovak defender Tomas Peciar has departed Cappielow after his contract was cancelled yesterday.

And Shiels has wasted no time in bringing in a replacement by snapping up Celtic defender Stuart Findlay on a loan until the end of the season.

Findlay has already played at Cappielow this term, having skippered Celts in both their 2-1 Under-20 league win over Kilmarnock in September and a UEFA Youth League loss to Barcelona in October.

The 18-year-old centre-half is a current Scotland Under-21 internationalist with six caps to his name, with his most recent appearance coming in a 1-1 draw with Georgia at St Mirren Park.

Shiels said: “Tomas Peciar has moved on.

“It’s something that’s come about where there’s no pay-off involved.

“Tomas is getting married in the summer and that has an influence on it.

“He’s been playing really well but I have to manage a budget and bring success to the team.

“This was an opportunity to do that as I’m bringing in young Stuart Findlay on loan from Celtic to occupy that position.

“Stuart is on loan until the end of the season and that deal is completed. He plays as a left-sided centre-half.

“He’s 6ft 3in, he’s got character in terms of he’s a young boy with a good head on him. He’s got maturity for his age.

“Stuart was very keen to come to us and gain first-team experience, and he and his father were at the game at Livingston on Saturday.

“What Stuart brings to the table is that we now have two quick centre-backs and it means we can now take our defence up the pitch a little bit more.

“It lends itself to how we want to play.

“He fits into our passing-from-the-back game, so it’s certainly a good piece of business from our perspective. It reduces our budget again which is good.” Twenty-five-year-old former Slovak under-21 internationalist Peciar took time to adapt to Scottish football, but seemed to have settled and was one of Ton’s top performers in recent weeks.

Despite spending just five-and-a-half months in Greenock, he will be fondly remembered for his outstanding display in Morton’s historic League Cup triumph over Celtic at Parkhead.

The Tele understands that Peciar’s compatriot Michal Habai will be the next to leave as Shiels continues to shape a new-look side to avoid relegation.