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Brown won't field weakened side Manager Craig Brown has dismissed any notion he might select a weakened Aberdeen side for Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash against Hibernian with next week's Scottish Cup semi-final coming into view. The Dons boss' hand may be forced, however, with injuries sustained in Wednesday night's 3-2 loss at St Mirren further depleting his options. Rory McArdle could be out for the season with a dislocated shoulder, while late decisions will be made on whether Zander Diamond (stomach) - like McArdle, injured at St Mirren - and David McNamee (hamstring) can take part in Saturday's match. While Brown acknowledges the April 17 Cup date with Celtic is important, he is focused on the clash with Hibs and the midweek SPL meeting with Rangers. He said: "We'll not deliberately weaken the team in any way. My priority is the next match. We want to get points on the board. "I know the semi-final looms large on everyone's mind but we want to get consistency of performance. "We'll put out the team which we think is the appropriate one for the game." McArdle and Diamond suffered injuries at New St Mirren Park as the Dons' troubles continued - they have won only one of their last seven games. With Paul Hartley (knee) still out alongside long-term injury victims Yoann Folly, Darren Mackie and Fraser Fyvie, the treatment room at Pittodrie is busy. "It's the walking wounded through there," Brown added. With the matches against Rangers and Celtic to follow, Brown is not prepared to risk further injuries against Hibs and Diamond and McNamee will only play if they prove their fitness. "If it was the last game of the season Zander Diamond would play," he said. "But if it's going to make him a risk for Wednesday or next Sunday, we'll not take a chance with him." Aberdeen's last league win was on February 22 - they beat St Mirren in a cup quarter-final replay on March 16 - and Brown is seeking improvements ahead of the Celtic match, beginning against Hibs. "It's a while since we had a league win," he said. "I haven't been too despondent, particularly the Hearts and St Mirren game up here, when I thought we were excellent. "I was pleased with the performance against St Mirren (on Wednesday). "I'm optimistic about the next two or three games." Former Scotland boss Brown will find a familiar face in the opposing dugout on Saturday. Hibs boss Colin Calderwood played under Brown at Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup. Calderwood has no major new injury concerns for the encounter. On-loan defender Richie Towell is available again after missing Wednesday's loss to parent club Celtic, with Calderwood monitoring the fitness of some of the players who suffered knocks in the 3-1 loss at Parkhead. Francis Dickoh could return, but Danny Galbraith (ankle), Steven Thicot (ankle), Kevin McCann (knee) and Graham Stack (shoulder) are out. Hibs` top scorer Derek Riordan must wait until the end of the season to discover his future, Calderwood said on Friday. Riordan, with 10 goals this term, is one of 11 players out of contract at the end of the current campaign. While the majority of the players whose deals end this summer have been told if they are surplus to requirements next term, Riordan's fate remains to be determined. Calderwood said: "We're going to get to the end of the season and sit down and thrash it out. "We both understand that, we're both happy to clear the games out of the road. "Nothing will happen between now and then." Calderwood expects an announcement to be made shortly about those players who are out of contract at the end of the campaign, but anticipates the squad will be contracted for next term. He added: "We've got too many players on the books at the minute, so we will reduce the numbers in terms of our first-team squad, definitely. "Ideally we'd be looking at a group round about 20." The former Northampton and Nottingham Forest boss also expects players to have to face up to the reality of 12-month contracts. He added: "With the number of changes in management, I think it's prudent of clubs to have shorter-term contracts. "More or less players favour them as well because it gives them a certain amount of freedom." Hibs have seven games left this term, and with defeat at Celtic on Wednesday night ending hopes of a top-six finish, Calderwood is now hoping to win the fight for seventh place. "We've got a lot to play for," he added. "We've got to fight to come top of the bottom half of the table and this gives us an opportunity to get further above Aberdeen."