T'was the night before the derby...

Okay, so it's not quite the heady mix of nerves, nausea and excitement that afflicted me before the cup game and it's not as if the result of this particular game has any sort of specific and meaningful outcome, but nonetheless I'm already looking forward to tomorrow. This feeling requires no explanation, it's a derby. Enough said. Going head to head with your local rivals is about as good as it gets but there are no prizes for second place, it's winner takes all.

For Hearts, this game - like any other - is about finding the points that will take them to Europe. In that respect, it's just as important as every other game we'll play between now and the end of the season. For Hibs, it's about finding themselves a place in the top six and finding some sort of highlight to a generally rotten season. A win against us might just give them the confidence and impetus to go on a last-minute run of form, although the jury is out on whether or not even a fifth place finish would be enough to keep Mixu in the hot seat.

But regardless of the benefits a win would bring for either side, it's so much more than just three points. There's pride at stake, and that's what makes it so special.

While some might be content to revel in the bravado gleaned from a decent league position and a few recent wins, I've never been one to tempt fate. Hibs might be having a difficult time right now but if anything, that makes them infinitely more dangerous than they would be if, for example, the positions were reversed. They got themselves a much needed win but they've been ritually humiliated both on and off the pitch in recent weeks; even their own manager saw fit to blast them in the press. They're not playing nice football but either are we, and the individual quality in their squad doesn't really reflect the performances that they've been churning out. Something has to give, and what better time and place for a renaissance than at home against your greatest rivals?

Of course, this sort of comeback would require some serious grit, commitment, a bit of luck and a dollop of decent football. They'd also need to rely on Hearts coming out and giving far less than we've offered in the past few fixtures against the likes of Motherwell and Dundee United. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. Can Hearts keep that up and can Hibs find it in them to handle it, overcome it and then win? I'm not one for predictions, but I just hope the Hibs supporters have more faith in their team and manager than I do.

It's a derby and the old cliche is true, you really don't ever know how it's going to work out. But I have faith in the players and the manager, they've earned that this season, and I get the feeling they won't let us down tomorrow.

The strangest feeling...

Having watched the debate unfold on Jambos Kickback regarding Hibs and their current predicament, I have to admit to experiencing the strangest feelings about it all. I don't want them to end up in the bottom six. Not at all.

According to some, it's not the done thing to have anything short of utter contempt and hatred for your local rivals and this is something I've always found a little difficult to comprehend. I don't want Hibs to achieve anything of note and I thoroughly enjoy the opportunities to exercise a little schadenfreude - opportunities which seem to arise with amusing regularity - but I can't find it in me to actually hate them. How can I hate something which brings me such joy?

I know plenty of Hearts supporters who in every other way are perfectly normal, calm and rational human beings, but also have the uncanny ability to morph into hate-filled, snarling gremlins at the mere mention of Hibs. It's just one of those football rivalry things which must have bypassed me during my formative Jambo years, but I'm perfectly comfortable with my approach. Perhaps I'd feel differently about things if Hibs had ever really managed to be a threat to us but that hasn't happened yet, and doesn't look likely in the forseeable future.

So, they're not doing all that well right now. The fans are baying for blood, Mixu's coat is on the shoogliest of shoogly pegs and the players are more interested in cultivating their penchant for ridiculous hairstyles than actually playing football. I actually heard them booing from a nearby street the other day and all in all, it's really quite satisfying to watch weekly disasters unfold at Easter Road. They're currently sitting in 7th and with 3 points separating them and 6th placed Motherwell, not to mention Hamilton Accies only 1 point behind them in 8th, ending up in the bottom six after the split is suddenly a very real possibility.

Hibs fans were hardly sympathetic when we had the same problem last season and yes, it would be nice to be given the chance to redress the balance in that respect, but for me that satisfaction would be outweighed by the things that we'd miss out on. A top six finish is all very well, as is the race for third, but I'd miss having that final derby at Tynecastle and if we want to get really cheeky about it, with a tough fixture list I'd be more comfortable putting money on us getting 3 points at home from Hibs than anyone else. Plus, it's a derby and quite simply, nothing else really compares. Furthermore, by missing out on a derby we'd also miss out on a ton of cash and we don't appear to be in a position to dismiss this sort of revenue out of hand. Finally, a bottom six finish could see the end of Mixu and quite frankly, I'm a big fan. He might well be my favourite Hibs manager.

We'd miss out on one opportunity to sneer, but it's not as if it would leave us short on material. Hibs are going nowhere fast and we'd benefit far more from having them in the top six....and most importantly, Mixu must stay if we want to see the same farce unfold all over again next year....

Brown trout

The title of this blog entry may not get us many hits for Hearts related content, but I really couldn't think of anything more appropriate following the events of the weekend. So yes, we went to Easter Road and we won. How tremendous was that? The atmosphere in the Hearts end was just brilliant and having now watched the highlights again on the telly (about 4 zillion times), it was great to hear the Jambos outsinging the Hibbies yet again.

It's easy to be magnanimous when you've just beaten your local rivals in a cup match, and being entirely honest about it I'd have to agree that Fletcher's red card probably was a tad on the unfortunate side, but I have little sympathy for them as a group of supporters at the moment. Yes, they're having a tough time and it's clear to anyone that Mixu just isn't up to the job, but the empty seats at Easter Road on Sunday belied an attitude which deserves nothing other than criticism. They had their team beaten before a ball had even been kicked. How can their team go out on to that pitch with anything approximating self-belief when the fans can't muster up enough faith to get themselves to the game in the first place?

I'd feel sorry for them if it wasn't so wickedly satisfying to take delight in their misfortune. Again. So, it's 108 in a row. They haven't won the big cup since 1902 you know....

But on to Mixu Paatelainen. If he was anyone other than the manager of Hibernian I might actually feel slightly sorry for him. Or at least, I would have done until he saw fit to publicly snipe at our captain. There's no doubt that with the benefit of numerous replays, it's possible to see why the red card might have been considered a harsh call, but similarly, any sensible human being with basic football knowledge can understand why it was given in the first place. For all that Fletcher isn't known as a dirty player, Christophe Berra certainly isn't known for his cheatery either and what Mixu fails to understand is that the chain of events was caused by stupidity on Fletcher's part and not anything more sinister than that. If he wants to take a gamble like that during an important derby, then the consequences of his actions rest with Steven Fletcher and nobody else. A tackle doesn't have to break a leg before it can be considered reckless, and muttering viciously about Berra because he had the audacity to take evasive action won't change the fact that Fletcher screwed up. It's that simple.

The Scotsman reported this morning that Hibs are considering an appeal and forgive me for being a cynic, but I'm not convinced by this move and I seriously doubt whether any of the Hibs fans will be either. Mixu may well be the only man on the planet (other than Pat Nevin) who thinks that they have any grounds for such an appeal and considering that the ref has already reviewed his decision and declared that he was satisfied with the actions he took, who in their right mind would really think they stand a chance of getting anywhere? His coat is on the shoogliest of pegs and desperate attempts to appease the less cerebral of supporters won't change that.

What it will do, however, is make Mixu look like an even bigger fool than he already does.

His lack of intelligence can perhaps be excused as a lack of managerial experience, but there's no way to disguise a lack of class. Mixu's petulant exit from the dugout without pausing to shake hands with Csaba Laszlo on Sunday was every bit as revealing as the 'get it up ye' gesture made by Riordan towards the Hearts fans. Out-witted, out-played, out-thought and most definitely out of their depth.

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