The return of the prodigal son to Leith offered a much-needed cause for celebration yesterday. After two years in the wilderness at Celtic, Derek Riordan finally came back to where it all started for him, at Hibs.

If the move from Parkhead back to Easter Road gladdened hearts at his former club, who have made a stuttering start to the season, then it was also a positive development for Scottish football.

Riordan was a prolific goal-scorer and around the Scotland squad when he made the switch to Celtic in 2006. There, he saw his career screech to an alarming halt. The 25-year-old struggled to make the team and, when he did so, was often played at left midfield, a position he did not consider to be his strongest. A total of 32 appearances and eight goals was a scant return for a player who was considered one of the brightest talents in the domestic game before his big move.

It was a spell which eventually ended in acrimony, with Riordan handing out heavy criticism to manager Gordon Strachan in a newspaper interview towards the end of last season.

It marked the end of his Celtic career and the formalities of his departure were finally completed on the eve of the closure of the transfer window on Monday.

Hibs also attempted to sign him on loan in January and there was reported interest from Hearts in recent weeks, but Riordan, a life-long Hibs fan, admitted that a switch to Tynecastle was never on the cards. "No. Hibs are obviously the team I support and they gave me the chance here, so obviously I was going to take Hibs first."

Yesterday, Riordan toed the party line and chose to keep his more colourful thoughts on his former manager and club to himself. At one point, when asked about his experiences at Celtic, the player looked to be on the verge of saying what he really thought but either the terms of a confidentiality agreement or the presence of the Hibs press officer changed his mind. He did, however, admit to deep frustration during his time with Celtic.

"It's frustrating for any player who doesn't get a game. I think any player would say they never got a chance if they weren't playing. You've just to get on with it and that's what I've done over the last year and a half. I played left midfield at Celtic rather than up front and I didn't enjoy playing there. Football is more important than money. It's just difficult when you are not playing every week. Training all week and then not playing at the weekend is the hardest thing to do.

"I would say the last two years was an experience. I enjoyed it, the players and the fans were good with me, but the frustrating bit was not playing games."

Riordan has also courted controversy off the pitch and a recent story revealed that he had been banned from every nightclub in Edinburgh after a series of incidents.

Mixu Paatelainen, the Hibs manager, was not overly concerned about his new signing's reputation. "I am not too worried about that.

"Every professional footballer needs to live their life as a professional athlete. The same rules apply to him as any other player. Obviously, we don't tolerate partying at the wrong time, put it that way."

If Riordan needs Hibs to breathe life into his ailing career, then the club also need him. The Easter Road side have been knocked out the Intertoto Cup and Co-Operative Insurance Cup, while they have only picked up one win in their first three league games.

"He will bring goals, I hope," said Paatelainen, who also played with Riordan at Hibs. "He's a goal-scorer and hopefully he will keep doing that at Hibs. His best position is up front. Both his feet are excellent - he can play wide or central. Somewhere he doesn't need to do too much defending - he keeps telling me he doesn't like that!

"I remember when I was here and he broke through he was not shy to shoot with both feet from any distance. That was noticeable even when he was young. Every player has bad spells and hopefully it's behind him. He's a tough character and once he's match fit and sharp he will be back scoring goals."

Riordan's unveiling overshadowed that of Hibs' other deadline-day signing, Dunfermline defender Souleymane Bamba.

The 23-year-old Ivory Coast internationalist had been set for a move to Watford but the deal collapsed and Paatelainen pounced. "I spoke to the manager and he said he wanted me to come here. It was an easy decision because it is a big club," Bamba said.