Steven Naismith makes Hearts derby vow as Hibs boss delivers ‘tough’ selection verdict

The latest from Hearts and Hibs ahead of next weekend’s Edinburgh derby.

Steven Naismith is relishing the prospect of next weekend’s Edinburgh derby and insisted Hearts will do ‘everything they can’ to see off Hibs and take the local bragging rights.

The Jam Tarts warmed up for the first derby of the season by claiming a narrow win against Ross County on Saturday as a second-half goal from Alan Forrest gave them all three points at the Global Energy Stadium.

The win moved Hearts into fourth place in the Premiership table as they prepare to host their cross-city rivals next Saturday afternoon and Naismith has wasted little time in switching his focus towards an eagerly anticipated clash.

He told Hearts TV: “The derby is a great game. The atmosphere is great. In the last one, we did well to get a result under difficult circumstances, the fans got behind us and it was a great day.

“The bigger picture is you need results to build momentum. We want to play a certain way, that is a work-in progress. As long as we can keep picking up results, while we’ve got a lot of injuries, and the team is growing that is the most pleasing aspect.

“The two results this week help us going into the derby. But we go into that like we do any other game, expecting to win, wanting to win and we will do everything we can to win.”

Hibs boss facing ‘tough’ calls

Hibs endured a frustrating afternoon on Saturday after they were held to a goalless draw by Dundee.

Nick Montgomery’s side went into the game looking to secure a third consecutive win at Easter Road but were made to rue several missed opportunities as they had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Hibs manager Nick Montgomery applauds the fans after the 0-0 draw with Dundee. (Photo by Simon Wootton / SNS Group)

With the Edinburgh derby now on the horizon, Montgomery set out his plans for what will lie ahead for his squad over the coming days and admitted he has some ‘tough’ calls to make over his starting eleven for the short trip to Tynecastle

Speaking after Saturday’s draw, he said: “We’ll have a bit of time to recover and the boys who haven’t been playing will get a little top up as well in the early part of the week.

“We’ll be ready for the game, the boys are looking forward to that, some might not have played a derby before, a lot of them have so it’s gonna be tough picking the eleven for that because everyone’s effort the last couple of weeks have given me everything.

“It’s a difficult job to manage but I’ll think about it and put a team out that’s gonna go and get a result.”