Exclusive:Beni Baningime's shock as he speaks candidly on where Hearts have fallen short and what needs to change

Beni Baningime is open-mouthed after being informed of Hearts’ recent Edinburgh derby record. One win in the last eight meetings with Hibs is not what he expected to hear. “Really?” he asks in shock. “So the last one was last year, right? Shanks scored? That’s obviously not good enough, is it? Yeah, it's not good enough for Hearts. I don't think I have anything more to say. I think that's the motivation for us, that next time we do play them, we need to beat them.”

Almost four years since moving to Scotland from Everton, Baningime understands the significance of Capital derbies. A disconsolate look on his face at full-time on Sunday conveyed emotions following Hearts’ 2-1 defeat at Easter Road. “In my time here, personally, I’d say we're a better team. Just in my time, I can't speak beyond that. We've been third twice, and finished fourth,” he points out.

“If we have been the better team in the last couple of years, then the results against Hibs should obviously show that. On Sunday, unfortunately, it didn't. For us, next time we play them, we need to change that record because it's obviously not good enough.”

Responding is the only way forward for those at Riccarton, starting with Friday night’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Dundee at Tynecastle Park. The need for resolve and character is not lost on Baningime. “Sunday was a little setback, of course,” admits the midfielder. “We bounced back after Rangers, so we'll have to do that again. That's football, you can't get too high, you can't get too low. It's a hard defeat, it's hard to take. So I think, for us, there is nothing but to bounce back. Do you get what I mean? We don't have any other option.

“You can't continue to feel sorry for yourself. Hopefully we do bounce back and we go up again on Friday. That changes the atmosphere a little bit, going to Hampden and whatever, so that should be our focus now and try and move on for Sunday’s painful defeat as quick as possible.”

Scottish Cup and SPFL Premiership success still on the agenda for Jambos

Mindful of an underwhelming campaign so far in Gorgie, there is also plenty opportunity to ensure 2024/25 ends memorably. Winning the Scottish Cup guarantees legendary status for any Hearts team, so the Dundee tie holds plenty significance. “It's huge, it's absolutely huge. I think the season that we've had has been up and down. It was terrible, and now it's better, but it's up and down because you've just lost a derby to this lot,” says Baningime.

“That's the one thing, as a player, you never really want to lose. You always want to win them games. Most of the time we have won it, but this season we haven't won any. That isn't good enough, so if we do get them again, then we're going to have to respond.

“Back to the Scottish Cup, it's huge. It's not potentially our only way into Europe, but obviously we are out of the top six right now. We need to try and get back into the top six, and ultimately it's just a chance to be winning a silverware. It's a great way, a great pathway to Europe, to win that.”

Whoever lifts the Scottish Cup is guaranteed a place in the play-off round for the UEFA Europa League. Defeat at that stage carries an automatic parachute into the Conference League and is worth upwards of £5m in revenue. Should Celtic win the cup, that European spot belonging to the cup winners would be given to the club finishing third in the Premiership because the Glasgow club will already be in the Champions League.

For Hearts - and everyone else left in the Scottish Cup - incentives to go all the way are clear. Baningime feels the Edinburgh club have fallen short when it comes to silverware in recent seasons. “It’s a big motivation, 100 per cent,” he explains. “I think we've come third twice in the last three years, and it's a great achievement from the boys. But that's the one thing that we've always fallen short on in my time here.

“In my first year, we got to the final against the Rangers and lost in extra-time, then we had two semi-finals last year. Hopefully we can use the experience that we have to go further than we have done. On Friday it starts with Dundee and, as I said, the top six is not done yet.

"We've made it hard for ourselves in terms of losing on Sunday but we can bounce back. I believe in the boys. So the most important thing is getting to the top six. Right now it's the cup, so beating them, going to Hampden, and then just focusing on the top six. Hopefully we do come out as the victors on Friday, and hopefully we go further than we have done in my time here.”

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