Hibs boss Reedijk on facing Vrancken's Hearts, 'strange things' prediction and Boyle, Chaiwa fitness update
Veteran striker has missed last two games and midfielder limped out of midweek draw
Hibs will have livewire veteran Martin Boyle back and ready to play in Sunday’s potentially season-defining Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Hearts. And Easter Road gaffer Marink Reedijk, who also provided an injury update on Miguel Chaiwa, says fans should expect “strange things” from an Edinburgh derby being played at Hampden.
Boyle has missed the last two games with a sickness bug, but the long-serving attacker – recently relieved of the captaincy as Felix Passlack was named skipper by new boss Reedijk – is now fully recovered. The last member of the 2016 Scottish Cup Final squad still at Hibs, his return delivers a real boost to a squad short on experience at the national stadium.
Sickness bug put Boyle in bed
Reedijk said: “The squad is still the same but Boyle is back. He feels better. And we are looking if Callum Wright can be on the bench, but this is for tomorrow, so he's still a question mark.”
Chaiwa limped out of action in the midweek draw with St Mirren in Paisley. Given the lack of options in central midfield, his absence would be a huge blow for Hibs.
But the manager said: “No, he's fine. He's OK, he'll make it this weekend.”
No ‘tactical’ surprises from city rivals
Former SK Beveren boss Reedijk has come up against Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken in Belgian football, as an assistant and then in friendly matches. Nothing the more experienced coach does is likely to surprise the relative rookie.
“He has a very clear style of playing, he doesn't change much about this,” said Reedijk. “So we are well aware of what we can expect. And we also saw how he brings it here in Scotland. This is a challenging way, and a nice way. So it will be a nice football match, I guess.
“Surprises? You never know, you never know. Again, here, a game like this is always electric.
“So it will be somewhere some surprises. It will be that it is 110 per cent. It will be in the stands very electric, very vocal, very intense.
“So in itself, these matches always bring a sort of surprise, because these are special matches. It's a match where anything happens, things happen, strange things happen, nice things happen.
“And therefore everybody looks forward to these kind of matches. And surprises in a tactical way, no. But the match in itself and the circumstances bring this already to the match.
“If you look at the match itself, it's always a special match. The matches where, when you were a little boy, as a player, as a member of staff and as a fan, you look forward to.
“Because these are the matches where it's not only the derby, it's also a semi-final, and it's one step away from a final. So, that is a double way of excitement, and this is why I'm very much looking forward to this game.”