Hibernian midfielder Dean Shiels reckons next week's friendly with Barcelona would be the perfect time to end the club's worrying goal drought.The Easter Road outfit are preparing for Thursday's meeting with the Catalan giants at Murrayfield on the back of some unimpressive pre-season showings.

Mixu Paatelainen's side have so far failed to win or score in three outings to leave fans already apprehensive about the new campaign.

Two-goal defeats home and away to high-flying Swedes IF Elfsborg sealed an early exit from the Intertoto Cup before a lacklustre 0-0 draw at Raith Rovers.

The might of Barcelona could therefore be deemed a daunting prospect for Hibs on current form, but Shiels refuses to be overawed.

The 23-year-old, who has locked horns with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo on international duty for Northern Ireland, is instead relishing the Spaniards' visit and the chance to net a famous goal.

He said: "It would be great to score. We've only had three games, so we're not getting too worried about that.

"But it would be nice, it would give the lads a good lift. Obviously, on a personal level it would be nice to score against a side like them; in fact for any of the players in the dressing room.

"They'll obviously see a lot of the ball and we'll have to be disciplined and try and keep our shape. They can spot weaknesses at any stage and cut you open.

"But we'll try and attack and score goals ourselves. There is no point going out if you don't believe you can score.

"We're not worried going into it, we're looking forward to it. It'll be really special just to be on the same field as some of their players."

Barcelona gave Hearts the runaround at Murrayfield last summer, comfortably winning 3-1, and Hibs can expect another unforgiving 90 minutes.

While the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco have departed the Nou Camp, Barca remain formidable and Shiels knows he will benefit from the experience.

He added: "I looked up to Deco and Ronaldinho, who have left, but they're all still unbelievable.

"In my position, I'll look to learn from people like Andres Iniesta and Xavi. I watched them win Euro 2008 with Spain and they're on a different planet at the moment."

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