Hibs boss sees SWPL Big Five emerging ahead of derby clash

Hibs Women coach Grant Scott will lead his team into tomorrow night’s Edinburgh derby. | SNS

Scottish women’s football is changing by the week, with the so-called Big Three now finding themselves joined by a pair of capital clubs not short of ambition. The ever-increasing gap between this new elite and the SWPL also-rans makes events like tomorrow night’s Edinburgh derby, a genuinely competitive clash of two evenly-matched teams, all the more precious.

The Hibs team hosting this live televised fixture are currently sitting second in Scotland’s top flight, a point clear of fourth-placed Hearts. The established trio of Glasgow City, Celtic and Rangers – fifth, third and first respectively – find themselves in more congested territory than might be expected heading into Match Day 6 of the new season.

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Look beneath City in the table, though, and it’s a long way down to the next nearest team. If the idea of a two-tier league is hardly a shockingly new concept in Scotland, the division between the fully-funded organisations and their part-time foes is pretty marked.

Hibs Women boss Grant Scott, a veteran who has seen the game transition from amateur to full professionalism (in some parts) over the years, smiled when asked if the Big Three had now become the Big Five, saying: “I would like to think so. I don’t know how it is from Hearts’ side but, looking at the way they go about their work, and looking at our own side, we’re looking to compete at the top end for as long as we can.

“What was the top three, they provide the consistency that maybe Hearts and ourselves have been striving for in the last couple of years. If we keep doing what we’re doing, we should be closing the gap.

“If we can close the gap, we can then get in among the top three. It will be tough. But that’s where we’re aiming.”

Aware that this development has created a surplus of one-sided scorelines, with one 10-0 hammering far from an outlier in a season when the best teams have rattled six, seven, eight or nine goals past lesser opponents, Scott feels time – and money – will eventually help close the most glaring gaps. Assuming, of course, the right people make smart decisions.

“It’s good to see, first and foremost, the growth of the game,” he said, adding: “I think we have a long, long way to go.

“You can now see within the league, the top five and then bottom half if you like. There is still evolution to happen.

“But you’re probably seeing that gap now being so wide because of the two or three years of full-time evolution that those top five have had. And it’s showing against the teams who are not quite there. So there’s lots of work to be done.

“But it’s obviously very, very positive that we’ve got full-time athletes in the country that we didn’t have four or five years ago. As things evolve in the next couple of years, you’ll see some of that quality filter down to those lower end teams. It should just make for a more competitive division, which I think is what we’d all crave.”

Tomorrow’s game will be tight enough, Scott pointing out: “It was similar last year, when we played each other. We were always nip and tuck in terms of league position, points totals, goals scored and conceded etc. It was all very, very close. In the end, they accumulated some more points than us.

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“I expect them to be confident. But we are too. So it makes it a level game for me.

“We try to look for the consistent approach, regardless of opponent. There are obviously little differences we will highlight in terms of the level of opposition, perhaps. But consistency is the way forward for us.

“I think there is a buzz in the training camp, Monday to Friday, going into the game. The players know it’s a big one, playing at the stadium, so there is that extra buzz about the girls.

“But our preparation remains the same. We’re unpicking what we can out of the opponent, discussing that with the group and practicing to exploit them when we can, and play our game.

“From what I’ve seen, they’re very disciplined in their work and their shape this year. They’ve brought in some quality international players that maybe they were missing last year – and certainly pace on the turnover, the transitional parts of the game.

“They’re very quick up top and fast down the sides. We’ll need to be very much on our game without the ball, on Friday.”